45 people stuck overnight in cable cars at Mont Blanc

PARIS -- A series of cable cars stopped working at high altitude Thursday over the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps, prompting a major rescue operation and leaving 45 people trapped in mid-air overnight, France's interior minister said.

Four helicopters were deployed after 110 people became stuck when the cable cars stalled because of a "technical incident," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

He said the helicopters rescued 65 people before the efforts were suspended for the night because of rough flight conditions.

First-aid workers were transported to the site and will be spending the night in the cable cars with those who are trapped, Cazeneuve said.

Rescuers provided blankets, food and water.

A local police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said the incident happened in "late afternoon" in the panoramic Vallee Blanche Cable Car that rises to an altitude of 12,395 feet.