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Passengers Trapped Overnight in Cable Cars in Alps Are Finally Rescued Passengers Trapped Overnight in Mont Blanc Cable Cars Are Rescued
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — All 110 passengers who were trapped in high-altitude cable cars in the French Alps have been rescued, including nearly three dozen who were forced to spend a harrowing night suspended over Mont Blanc after emergency operations were suspended, French officials said on Friday.PARIS — All 110 passengers who were trapped in high-altitude cable cars in the French Alps have been rescued, including nearly three dozen who were forced to spend a harrowing night suspended over Mont Blanc after emergency operations were suspended, French officials said on Friday.
The daring rescue unfolded at an altitude of nearly 12,500 feet in the Mont Blanc massif near Chamonix after the cars came to a halt around 2 p.m. local time on Thursday between the Aiguille du Midi in France and Pointe Helbronner in Italy. The daring rescue unfolded at an altitude of nearly 12,500 feet in the Mont Blanc massif near Chamonix after the cars came to a halt around 2 p.m. local time Thursday between the Aiguille du Midi in France and Pointe Helbronner in Italy.
All the occupants of the cable cars are “safe and sound,” the French Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that the passengers who were trapped overnight had French and Italian rescue workers by their side throughout the ordeal. All the occupants of the cable cars are “safe and sound,” the French Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that the passengers who had been trapped overnight had French and Italian rescue workers by their side throughout the ordeal.
The rescue effort resumed Friday morning, after technicians untangled the supporting and towing cables that had become crossed in several places, Reuters reported. The rescue effort resumed Friday morning, and the cable cars were back in service at about 8:30 a.m., officials said, after technicians untangled the supporting and towing cables that had become crossed in several places.
The Interior Ministry posted a picture on Twitter with several people near a helicopter and said that the last of the trapped passengers had been evacuated. One of the passengers who was rescued on Friday, who identified himself only as Clément, told the French television channel BFMTV that the passengers had spent a cold, sleepless night that had combined fear and boredom.
“In the beginning, we were very confident because we knew we had the survival blankets,” he said. “Around 2 or 3 a.m., we realized that it was quite cold, and then around 4, 5 a.m., it got quite hard because even the survival blankets were not enough.”
As the night went on, they started to play a word-guessing game. “It got boring after awhile, then we chatted with the other people,” he told BFM. “We also called a lot on the phone to get information or updates, and we were a little scared. We got bored a lot.”
Mario Mochet, 63, an Italian mountain guide who assisted with the rescue effort, said that the passengers “were never in a huge amount of danger.”
“People panic at first, but after a few hours they’re just very happy to be rescued,” he said. “We explained that this was an exceptional situation, that everything would be fine, that we would do everything necessary to bring them down safely, without problems.”
Helicopters were used on Thursday to rescue 65 people. A dozen other passengers were evacuated by an Italian rescue team, but that part of the operation was not done by helicopter because the cable car was close enough to the ground, according to Mathieu Dechavanne, the chief executive of the company that manages the cable cars.Helicopters were used on Thursday to rescue 65 people. A dozen other passengers were evacuated by an Italian rescue team, but that part of the operation was not done by helicopter because the cable car was close enough to the ground, according to Mathieu Dechavanne, the chief executive of the company that manages the cable cars.
“We had to stop the rescuing operations when the night came because the helicopters can’t do the rescuing operation when it is dark,” Floriane Macian, a spokeswoman for the prefecture, said in a telephone interview.“We had to stop the rescuing operations when the night came because the helicopters can’t do the rescuing operation when it is dark,” Floriane Macian, a spokeswoman for the prefecture, said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Dechavanne said he had called the rescue services at 5 p.m. to start evacuating the passengers. Antoine Burnet, the marketing director for the Mont Blanc Company, which runs the cable-car service, described the rescued passengers — including people from France, Italy, South Korea and the United States — as “tired but calm” on Friday. An older man was hospitalized with hypothermia, Mr. Burnet said, but he was not in danger.
“We had to do it by helicopter and not vertically like we can do it in other places, because the ground underneath is of a glacial type so there is a risk of crevasses and it could lead to accidents,” he said. Mr. Burnet added that the reason the cables had crossed was unclear. “It can be caused by strong winds, which can stop the process, but there will be an investigation,” he said.
The Daily Express, a British newspaper, reported that rescuers had harnessed themselves to the cables and climbed along to the cars before dropping through hatches. Mr. Dechavanne said he had called rescue services at 5 p.m. on Thursday to start evacuating the passengers.
Five rescue workers remained with some of the passengers, who were given food and blankets to fend off the cold. “We had to do it by helicopter and not vertically, like we can do it in other places, because the ground underneath is of a glacial type so there is a risk of crevasses and it could lead to accidents,” he said.
“They have a survival kit in each of the cable cars with cereal bars, water and survival blankets, and we contacted them by phone to explain everything,” Mr. Dechavanne said late Thursday. “Only two of the cable cars don’t have rescue workers with them, they have the survival kit.” The cable cars can usually carry up to 140 people, who often ride on them to enjoy the views of the mountains at this time of year. The trip takes 30 minutes.
The cable cars can usually carry up to 140 people, who often ride on them to enjoy the view of the mountains at this time of year. The trip takes 30 minutes.
A passenger who was evacuated told The Daily Express that he and his family had been trapped for hours. “It was me, my daughter and my son,” Frédéric Maurer, 49, said. “We were two and a half hours in the cab locked under the sun.”
The cable car company says its Aiguille du Midi cable car holds the world record for the highest vertical ascent: 2,807 meters, or about 9,209 feet.The cable car company says its Aiguille du Midi cable car holds the world record for the highest vertical ascent: 2,807 meters, or about 9,209 feet.