At least 70 of the 110 people who were trapped on a cable car in the French Alps have been rescued.
A file photo of the Panoramic Mont-Blanc cable car linking the Aiguille du Midi peak to the Helbronner peak in Italy. Photo: AFP
The cable cars near Mont Blanc ground to a halt on Thursday evening, leaving 110 people trapped.
Emergency workers scrambled at first light on Friday to rescue the remaining 33 people, including one child, after tangled cables were repaired.
About 65 were airlifted out by helicopters the previous day before the operation was suspended for the night.
American tourist Kathy Cook, one of the earlier people to be rescued, said she was stuck for nearly half a day.
"The cable failed about 2.30 in the afternoon and it was just before midnight before they finally belayed us out of the gondolas, which was really quite an experience," she said.
"The helicopter rescue failed because the fog moved in so we had to just wait and then they decided they could belay us safely to the ground and we walked up the glacier to the hut."
The cable cars were at "an altitude of about 3800m", officials said.
The problem was caused by cables that got crossed for "unknown reasons".
"We succeeded in evacuating, in very difficult conditions, 60 people in an hour-and-a-half," Mr Leclerc, told AFP news agency.
"We had to suspend the air transport rescue at nightfall," he added.
Mathieu Dechavanne, the head of the cable company, said earlier that the authorities were "in contact with the clients [in the cable cars]".
"They have water and some means of communication but are beginning to find it's taking a long time."
Italian and Swiss crews are taking part in rescue efforts. The operation involves three helicopters.
The cable cars offer tourists a panoramic view of Mont Blanc.
- BBC
