Twenty-one people were rescued Saturday after they became stuck on a Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque, New Mexico, authorities said.
Twenty people on one car were safely rescued, leaving an employee alone in a separate car as the last person stuck aloft Saturday, authorities said.
That person was safety rescued with the help of a sheriff's helicopter, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said in a statement late Saturday afternoon.
The 21 were stranded since about 2 a.m., the sheriff's office said on Facebook.
The agency's metro air support team was at the scene to evacuate people in groups of two to four. Efforts were made difficult by high winds and low visibility, authorities said.
Officials told KOB 4 that Ten3 employees were taking the tram back down Friday night when the ice began to accumulate and stopped the tramway.
A spokesperson for Sandia Peak Tramway told the news station that the ice accumulated unusually fast on one of the cables, causing the cable to droop below the tram.
Sandia Peak Tramway is 2.7 miles in diagonal length and is a bi-cable double reversible aerial passenger tramway. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions in Albuquerque, according to its Facebook page.
On Saturday Sandia Peak closed the tram and its restaurant, Ten 3, at the top of the tramway, due to weather conditions. Operators said it would remain closed through Sunday.