French Alps cable car accident in Alpe d’Huez leaves 23 injured

AFP

27 Aug, 2026 07:47 AMQuick Read

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A cable car at Alpe d’Huez in France hit a crane, leaving 23 people injured. Photo / Getty Images

A cable car hit a crane in the French resort of Alpe d’Huez leaving 23 injured, three critically, officials said Thursday.

There were about 50 people in the cabin of the cable car when the accident happened Wednesday morning at an altitude of 2300m, Alpe d’Huez Mayor Jean-Yves Noyrey told
AFP.

“There are mainly people in shock and cases of concussion,” Noyrey said, adding he believed most of the injured had left hospital.

Cable cars are designed to stabilise themselves if they brake suddenly, but “on hitting the crane, the car tilted, and the people inside slid”, the mayor said.

“They thought they were going to die, but the operator reacted well by reversing to level the cabin.”