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No quick cable car fix after tourist helicopter rescue

Glacier 3000 cable car
The Glacier 3000 cable car has been out of action for several days. Keystone / Bastien Gallay

Tourists have had no access to the popular Swiss alpine Glacier 3000 resort since a cable car broke down on Thursday, temporarily stranding 270 people on the mountain top.

The visitors were rescued by two Air Glacier helicopters that made 54 trips to ferry people to safety.

On Sunday, the resort operators told Keystone-SDA that engineers have so far been unable to identify the exact cause of the problem, despite working until 2am.

+ Reaching new heights with Swiss cable cars

The cable car got stuck due to an electrical fault and had to be winched to the top using an emergency back-up engine.

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Groups that have booked cable car trips will be informed of the situation on an ongoing basis.

The Glacier 3000 resort has endured a miserable last few months. Last September, a fire broke out at the high-altitude restaurant above the resort at Les Diablerets in French-speaking canton Vaud, southwestern Switzerland.

No-one was injured as the building was empty at the time of the blaze and the cable cars were also left intact. 

Reconstruction work only began last month after plans for the new building were presented by Swiss architect Mario Botta. 

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