More than 100 tourists were trapped in the Mont Blanc region of France on Thursday evening when the cable car service they were using developed a snag, reported AFP. While 77 people were evacuated hours after the cars stopped around 4 pm (local time), 33 others, including a 10-year-old child, had to spend the night suspended at an altitude of 12,500 feet. They were brought to the ground only after the services were restored on Friday morning.

Police chief Stephane Bozon said all the tourists were safe. Those who were stuck through the night had access to emergency blankets, energy bars and water. He said, "We were in contact with them throughout the night, the people were cold."

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According to officials, three cable cars got entangled, forcing the entire system to break down. Mathieu Dechavanne, the Chief Executive Officer of the company that runs the service, told AFP that the exact cause of the incident is not yet known, but they believe a gust of wind played a major role.

Officials said rescue operations had to be suspended on Thursday evening because it got dark and weather conditions were tricky. Prefect of the Haute-Savoie region, Georges François Leclerc, said the volunteers could not "guarantee the safety of the pilots, rescuers and the people stuck in the cars".

The Vallée Blanche cable car runs between Aiguille du Midi and Pointe Helbronner, a distance of about three miles, reported The Telegraph. About 50 million people take this ride every year. Five years ago, around 40 people were stuck for seven hours on the Grande-Motte cable car in the southeastern French Alps after it broke down.