240 skiers are airlifted to safety after French Alps chairlift breaks down

Some 240 skiers were airlifted to safety Tuesday after a chairlift in the French Alps broke down, officials said.

The skiers were evacuated from the Festoure chairlift by helicopter at the popular Superdevoluy resort in the southern French Alps. No injuries were reported during the Christmas Eve rescue.

‘An electrical failure in the engine system has made it impossible to operate the Festoure chairlift at the Superdevoluy resort,’ the prefecture said in a statement, adding that all the skiers were unharmed.

The malfunction occurred in the afternoon, officials said.

A skier shared on social media that she had been stuck on the lift for three to four hours by the time she was rescued.  

Located at an altitude of between 4,920 to 8,200 feet between Gap and Grenoble, the Devoluy massif includes the ski resorts of Superdevoluy and Joue du Loup.

This comes just days after more than 170 skiers and snowboarders were evacuated by rope from a ski lift at a US resort after a crack brought the gondola to a mid-air halt. 

The gondola at Winter Park Resort, about 70 miles west of Denver, Colorado, came to an automatic stop just after noon on Saturday when it detected the crack in a structural piece of the lift.

Ski patrollers entered the cabin of each gondola from above and lowered people’s equipment to the ground.

Rescuers then used a rope equipped with a seat to lower each of the 174 passengers to the ground, resort spokesperson Jen Miller said.

Miller confirmed a crack in a metal support beam caused the gondola to malfunction. The broken part was removed and a replacement installed on Sunday afternoon.  

No injuries were reported during the rescues, which came at the start of the busy holiday ski season.  

Guests who were trapped on the lift have been given $10 voucher and two lift passes that can be used this year or next, ABC News reported.