Tourists stranded overnight in French Alps cable car terror

A rescue operation has resumed to free tourists who spent the night trapped in cable cars suspended above the French Alps.

Efforts to save the group were halted last night when conditions became too dangerous for rescue helicopters.

110 tourists became stuck on the 35-minute 5km cable car trip over the Vallée Blanche at 5.25pm yesterday.

Rescue efforts saw 65 people freed before night fell. The remainder, including a child aged 10, had to stay in the cabins overnight.

The journey links the Aiguille du Midi, a 3842 metre peak above Chamonix, France, to the Point Helbronner, a 3462 metre peak in Italy.

At 11.30pm a helicopter could still be seen above the site making efforts to distribute emergency supplies and rescue remaining victims.

Speaking to a French television station during the rescue, Eric Fournier, the Mayor of Chamonix, said: “People who are stuck in the cabins are being evacuated by helicopter.

“There are no fundamental concerns. The rescuers, supported by their Italian counterparts, are implementing with speed and efficiency all the necessary operations to bring these people back into the valley.

"It has happened in the heart of Mont Blanc so, by character, it was quite spectacular.”

There was speculation that a problem with the cables had caused the breakdown.

The nationalities of those who remained trapped was not known.

There were French, American and Italian tourists among those rescued on Thursday.

France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the “courage” of the French and Italian rescuers.

He said: “They are engaged in a delicate operation to rescue 110 people trapped following a technical incident.”