Overview
- A fierce wind gust around 15:00 UTC on June 23 displaced both carrying and hauling cables of the Karrenseilbahn about 200 meters below the mountain station.
- The gondola carrying 19 passengers and a dog hung 60 to 80 meters above the ground after the cables derailed and blocked standard rescue gondolas from reaching it.
- Stadt Dornbirn officials reported that rescue teams began preparing a helicopter deployment at 17:30 UTC to evaluate the safest extraction method.
- Helicopter crews abseiled emergency personnel onto the cabin and evacuated all occupants over a challenging four-hour operation.
- Local authorities said the passengers stayed composed throughout the ordeal and highlighted the incident’s reminder of the importance of emergency response planning during severe weather.