ABOVE: See the incredible GoPro footage as one skier is rescued from a dangling cable car following an accident at an Italian ski resort
Hundreds were left stranded and dangling in mid-air after an accident shut down a cable car at the Val Gardena ski resort in Italy Thursday.
Rescuers had to use a helicopter to retrieve the nearly 200 skiers stuck in gondolas after high winds blew a 40-metre-high tree right onto the gondola’s power lines.
The Ciampinoi cable car shut down as a result, stranding hundreds in cable cars which carried 12 skiers each.
Amid concerns the toppled tree could cause further damage and wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour, rescuers were lowered from the helicopter onto the gondolas.
They then used cables to lower skiers to the ground.
WATCH: Skiers rescued from cable car suspended high in the air in Italy
The French ski resort of La Tania sent out a tweet supporting the mountain rescue team during their work, saying “that’s why our rescue teams practice this…”
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, 184 skiers were saved and no one suffered any injuries.
The powerful winds wreaked havoc across the region, and claimed two other lives in separate incidents, according to reports.
-With files from the Associated Press
Comments