Tourists evacuated by helicopter after Swiss cable car breakdown
Keystone / Bastien Gallay
Technical problems involving the second cable car at the Swiss ski resort of Glacier 3000 had left 270 visitors stuck at the top.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ac
The electric fault in the cable car occurred around 11:00 am bringing the tourist traffic to a halt. The people trapped in the cable cars were pulled into the end stations with the aid of backup emergency systems. Then, as the fault could not be rectified quickly, it was decided at around 13:00 to evacuate the tourists by helicopter.
Around 270 tourists, stranded at the summit, were flown out in two Air Glacier helicopters that made 54 trips in total. The whole operation lasted a good hour and a half.
Repairs are underway and the service was still not operating on Saturday.
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. 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.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
This content was published on
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo's parent company, must restructure due to financial pressures and to stay competitive in the fast-moving media environment.
This content was published on
There has been a sharp decline in the consumption of single-use disposable plastic bags and reusable plastic bags in the Swiss retail sector.
This content was published on
A biometric Swiss identity card (ID) is expected to be available in Switzerland by the end of 2026. The Federal Office of Police and its federal and cantonal partners are working on a new ID card that features a chip.
Heatwave reduces output at Swiss nuclear power plant by 50%
This content was published on
The ongoing heatwave has forced the Beznau nuclear power plant, which relies on water from the River Aare, to halve its output.
Swiss continue to enjoy high social mobility, study shows
This content was published on
Opportunities for upward social mobility have remained intact in Switzerland since the 1980s. Social mobility is exceptionally high by international comparison, a study shows.
Swiss government affected by cyberattack on health foundation
This content was published on
Switzerland says a ransomware attack on the non-profit health foundation Radix that involved data being stolen and encrypted had also affected the federal administration.
Federal Council agrees to investigation into alleged Swiss-Russian spying affair
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland can open spying investigations into the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS).
Appeal launched against Starlink satellite antennae project planned in Swiss village
This content was published on
A group of Swiss citizens has filed an appeal against plans to install 40 Starlink satellite antennae in the mountain village of Leuk in southern Switzerland.
UBS launches buyback scheme for up to $2 billion in shares
This content was published on
UBS is starting a share buyback programme for up to $2 billion (CHF1.6 billion) in shares, in line with a plan approved at its annual general meeting (AGM) in April, the Swiss bank said on Monday.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.