Veysonnaz VS Passengers evacuated from defective gondola lift

Passengers on the Veysonnaz VS gondola lift were evacuated on Saturday. The cable car is at a standstill due to a defect, as the mountain railroads announced.

This article was last updated at 19:02.

Several dozen passengers on a gondola lift in Veysonnaz VS were evacuated on Saturday, some of them by helicopter. The cable car was at a standstill due to a power failure. No one was injured.

Guests had to be evacuated after a power failure, a spokesperson for the cable car company NVRM told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Helicopters were used for some of them. The safety of the passengers was not at risk. They were evacuated to save them a long wait.

The communications manager of the local mountain railway company Nendaz-Veysonnaz Remontées mécaniques SA said on request that the evacuees would be contacted personally. Other guests in the ski area were directed to another cable car and shuttle buses were also used. The gondola lift is to be repaired during the night. They hope to be able to put the lift back into operation on Sunday.

The company's website showed that the Veysonnaz-Thyon gondola lift was affected by the power failure. Among other things, it provides access to the "Piste de l'Ours". The gondolas each have eight seats and take passengers up to an altitude of 2121 meters. The lift is also a gateway to the "4 Vallées" ski area. The journey time is eight minutes and the installation, which was built in 2005, can transport up to 1600 people per hour.

Pictures and videos of the ongoing evacuation by helicopter can be seen on the Rhône FM and "Blick" websites.