Stranded tourists airlifted from iconic Schilthorn peak
Visitors to the Schilthorn summit, famed worldwide as the backdrop to a James Bond film, experienced drama of their own on Thursday after a breakdown put the cable car service out of action.
Five helicopters had to be put into service to airlift more than 300 passengers to Mürren from the middle station of Birg after they became stranded.
The Schilthorn aerial cableway links Stechelberg and Mürren in the Bernese Oberland with the Schilthorn summit at Piz Gloria that offers spectacular views over the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.
Piz Gloria, with its revolving restaurant, was used as a location in the 1969 spy film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Read also: On Location: ten famous movies filmed in Switzerland
The breakdown happened at around 11am as a cable car cabin had come to a halt in the station of Birg at 2,677 metres.
By mid-afternoon all 295 passengers and 18 staff had been evacuated.
Technischer Defekt Luftseilbahn, Mürren - Birg.
Die Gäste und Mitarbeitenden wurden von der Mittelstation Birg mit Helikoptern nach Mürren geflogen.
Die Evakuierung wurde aufgrund der Wettervorhersagen eingeleitet und war nach zwei Stunden beendet. https://t.co/LpL1NoI4RW pic.twitter.com/Cu6KRLbaMY
— Schilthorn-PizGloria (@SchilthornPiz) June 22, 2018
An Air Glaciers team arrived at the spot 10 minutes after being alerted.
“We have never had to fly out so many people at once. Indians, Chinese, Japanese, old and young, we got them all safely to Mürren,” Michael Jaun of Air Glaciers told the Blick newspaper.
For many, it was their first time in a helicopter and some were scared, Christoph Egger, director of the Schilthorn Cableway told Blick. But no one refused to board the helicopter.
Egger said that because the technical problem could not be fixed straight away, and a storm was brewing, it had been decided to evacuate the passengers.
Walking back down to Mürren would have taken up to two hours, and this was not considered feasible for elderly people, he said.
The Schilthorn Cableway said it hoped to resume the cable car service on Friday.
Comments
See Also
Five helicopters had to be put into service to airlift more than 300 passengers to Mürren from the middle station of Birg after they became stranded.
The Schilthorn aerial cableway links Stechelberg and Mürren in the Bernese Oberland with the Schilthorn summit at Piz Gloria that offers spectacular views over the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.
Piz Gloria, with its revolving restaurant, was used as a location in the 1969 spy film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Read also: On Location: ten famous movies filmed in Switzerland
The breakdown happened at around 11am as a cable car cabin had come to a halt in the station of Birg at 2,677 metres.
By mid-afternoon all 295 passengers and 18 staff had been evacuated.
Technischer Defekt Luftseilbahn, Mürren - Birg.
— Schilthorn-PizGloria (@SchilthornPiz) June 22, 2018
Die Gäste und Mitarbeitenden wurden von der Mittelstation Birg mit Helikoptern nach Mürren geflogen.
Die Evakuierung wurde aufgrund der Wettervorhersagen eingeleitet und war nach zwei Stunden beendet. https://t.co/LpL1NoI4RW pic.twitter.com/Cu6KRLbaMY
An Air Glaciers team arrived at the spot 10 minutes after being alerted.
“We have never had to fly out so many people at once. Indians, Chinese, Japanese, old and young, we got them all safely to Mürren,” Michael Jaun of Air Glaciers told the Blick newspaper.
For many, it was their first time in a helicopter and some were scared, Christoph Egger, director of the Schilthorn Cableway told Blick. But no one refused to board the helicopter.
Egger said that because the technical problem could not be fixed straight away, and a storm was brewing, it had been decided to evacuate the passengers.
Walking back down to Mürren would have taken up to two hours, and this was not considered feasible for elderly people, he said.
The Schilthorn Cableway said it hoped to resume the cable car service on Friday.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.