Emergency services spokesman Roland Ampenberger says helicopter crews lifted the tourists to safety, including several children, early this morning after they had spent about 17 hours inside a gondola, suspended some 260 feet (80 metres) above the ground.
Police say the cable car was stopped yesterday after a paraglider crashed into the cables of the cable car that climbs the Tegelberg mountain, but strong winds hindered a swift rescue effort.
Tegelberg is within sight of one of Germany's most popular tourist attractions, the Neuschwanstein Castle which is often viewed as the inspiration for one of Walt Disney's fairy tale castles.
Published 13 August 2011, 11:46 IST