Tourists airlifted from mountain after cable car failure

Helicopters airlifted 270 people to safety from the summit of Glacier 3000 in the Bernese Oberland yesterday after a cable car broke down leaving tourists stranded.

Emergency systems were put in place to rescue people who were stuck in the broken-down cable car late in the morning. Everyone who’d reached the summit was then taken down the mountain by helicopter, with the evacuation operation taking just a few hours. 

It’s not known how long it’ll be before normal service is resumed but cable car operators are optimistic that repairs will be completed swiftly.

The Glacier 3000 is the only glacier ski area in the Bernese Oberland. From the summit there are spectacular views over the Bernese Alps, including 24 summits more than 4000m high, such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

 

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play