Switzerland: 75 cable car passengers rescued by helicopter near St. Moritz glacier resort
Light from the rising sun in Zermatt, Switzerland catches the eastern face of the Matterhorn in December, 2007.
What an Easter Sunday.
Helicopters have rescued 75 passengers from a broken-down cable car near the mountain resort town of St. Mortitz in Switzerland’s Engadine valley, according to The Associated Press.
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After the two-hour operation was completed, rescue workers from the Swiss alpine club and Swiss air rescue, or Rega, determined that none of the passengers, who included children and elderly people, required medical attention, according to the Agence Télégraphique Suisse news agency, or ATS.
The news agency said passengers were removed in groups of three and four.
According to the AP, the cable car known as the Diavolezza gondola rises nearly 10,000 feet, or 3,000 meters, to access a glacier ski resort.
ATS reported that the incident had occurred at 11 am but that its cause was still unexplained.
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The cable car system and the carriage itself were recently renovated at a cost of 4.5 million Swiss francs, or about $4.9 million, according to ATS, which cited the website of the Engadine Valley-St. Moritz mountain railway.
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