Chair lift rescue for 150 trapped skiers

At least 150 people have been rescued after being trapped for several hours in ski lift gondolas in the resort of Chamrousse in the French Alps.

A vast rescue operation was launched after the lift broke down at about 3pm local time yesterday afternoon.

No-one was injured during the incident. The rescue operation lasted about two hours, Franck Lecoutre, head of the local tourism office said.

“They will all be in time for Christmas Eve,” he said.

Helicopters dropped rescue personnel onto the top of each gondola and released the skiers through the roof hatch before lowering them to the ground. The skiers had been suspended around 25 metres above the snow before ropes were used to bring them down.

Each gondola has space for about ten people. The cause of the breakdown has not been established.

The ski lift connects the town of Chamrousse to the summit of the Croix de Chamrousse, 2,250m above sea level.