The rescue of 33 people trapped overnight in cable cars dangling at 12,000 feet above the ground in the French Alps was completed successfully on Friday, according to officials.
At least three children were trapped with their respective families as rescue workers conducted regular check-ins and phone calls throughout the night, said Iain Cleaver, an employee of Mont-Blanc Company, which operates the cable cars.
A full medical team was provided by local rescue services with trapped passengers undergoing medical checks for signs of hypothermia.
Rescue helicopters were used to help those stranded inside the cable cars.
Early Thursday, helicopters rescued 65 of the 110 initial passengers trapped in the Chamonix region near Mont Blanc, a local government official with knowledge of the operation told the mdeia.
Hours later, workers were able to rescue 12 more passengers. They were able to walk to a connecting cable car that took them to the Italian town of Courmayeur, Cleaver said.
Timing of the rescue efforts was dependent on weather conditions and nightfall.
Rescue efforts restarted at dawn on Friday morning.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m., after two cables crossed over each other, the official said.
French and Italian helicopters were used to get passengers to safety, Chamonix Mayor Eric Fournier told journalist affiliate BFMTV.
The cars are at an altitude of nearly 12,000 feet.
A tourist from Australia posted a picture on Instagram after riding the cable car in Chamonix earlier.
"I've done a lot of cable cars in my time and this one was definitely the fastest and bouncier," Louise Banks told the journalist. "I was also surprised that the attendants opened the door to the cable car when the cable car was still swinging to and fro when it came into the landing bay."
Helicopters were called into action to help with the rescue effort.
Another tourist, from South Africa, posted a video showing spectacular views of snow-capped mountains taken before the incident.
"We were stuck for a few minutes this morning and we were frightened, but we had never been in a ski lift before so we were not sure if this was normal," the tourist, who did not want to be named, told the news. "We are very relieved that we are back safely and our prayers are for people to be safe as soon as possible."
The panoramic Vallée Blanche Cable Car connects Aiguille du Midi on the French side of the mountain to Pointe Helbronner on the Italian border.
Télécabine Panoramique Mont-Blanc traverses some of the glaciers and crevasses on the mountain. Chamonix lies below some of the highest peaks in Europe.
The first two sections of cable cars are expected to reopen at approximately 10:00 am local time (4:00 am ET), said Cleaver. A third section, where the incident occurred, is still being checked and is not expected to reopen for another 24 hours.
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