A technical problem was detected involving a cable car up to the popular Glacier 30,00 ski resort in Les Diablerets mountain massif in southwestern Switzerland. According to the station chief there was an electrical failure in the engine system in the second cable car section.
At first, the tourists at the top station were asked to simply wait and enjoy the spectacular views while the technical staff attempted to fix the problem. But ultimately, it was decided to evacuate the station.
About 270 people, most of them tourists, were taken by chairlift down to the glacier below, where they were picked up by helicopter. Two helicopters were used for the operation, flying people to the middle station, where they could catch the still-functioning chairlift on the first section back down to Col du Pillon, at 1,546 meters above sea level. The evacuation took under 2 hours.
