347 skiers rescued by helicopter in the French Alps

Hundreds of skiers had to be rescued by helicopter on Christmas Eve after chairlifts failed at two different ski resorts in the French Alps.

Dramatic video shows skiers at the SuperDevoluy resort in Dévoluy hanging under a helicopter near a stationary chairlift. One of the resort’s chairlifts failed around 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday due to an electrical problem with one of its motors, Nouvelle République reported.

About 240 skiers were evacuated from the lift around 5 p.m. local time at the ski resort in the French Southern Alps, where the altitude is between 6,000 and 8,200 feet above sea level. No one was injured, Le Monde reported.

In Savoy, also in the French Alps, around 100 skiers were stuck in a lift at the La Norma ski resort on Tuesday, TF1 reported, in an unrelated incident. Located in the Maurienne Valley, the resort ranges from 4,500 to nearly 9,000 feet above sea level.

The rescue took place a day later Death of a 26-year-old Olympic snowboarder at a resort in the Swiss Alps. Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss snowboard cross team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, died in an avalanche in the Arosa ski resort, the country’s ski association announced on Tuesday.