Lt. Robert Arguellas a Bernalillo County Fire Department spokesperson, said early Saturday afternoon that crews first rescued 20 people stranded in one car and several hours later rescued a 21st person stranded by themselves in a second car.
The other employee had been heading up the mountain to provide overnight security when the tram system shut down Friday night due to icing, Arguellas said.To rescue the 20 people in the one car, operators were able to move it to a nearby support tower more than halfway up the mountain, and search and rescue personnel early Saturday morning hiked to the area and climbed the tower to deliver blankets and other supplies to those inside the heated car, Arguellas said.
The 20 people were then ferried by helicopter several at a time to the base of the mountains, he said.