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Cable car accident leaves 45 trapped overnight near French Mont Blanc

Xinhua, September 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Forty-five people, including a 10-year-old child, were stuck overnight in cable cars near Mont Blanc in Southeast France after a ride between two peaks stopped on Thursday.

A total of 110 passengers were stranded in the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable cars at over 3000 meters altitude after the line stopped moving at 5:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT).

Helicopters rescued 65 of these passengers but the operation was suspended for the night due to poor flight conditions.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve mentioned a technical problem in a statement without giving any details.

The High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM), which operates the cable line, had hoped to help everyone before nightfall, but the evacuation by air was long and delicate due to difficult conditions, according to the prefect of the Haute-Savoie, a French bordering town where the incident happened.

The cable ride linking the Aiguille du Midi and the Helbronner peak between France and Italy usually takes 35 minutes. It is operated in the summer season when a large number of tourists visit the region. Endi