Dozens of tourists have been abseiled to safety down a mountain in Tenerife after two cable car booths stopped in mid-air.

Emergency workers were called to Mount Teide after a cable car system broke down, leaving 70 people suspended 250ft above the ground.

During a four-hour rescue operation, every passenger was placed in a harness and dropped through the hatches of the stranded booths one by one.

Image: The rescue operation took four hours

Around 50 firefighters operated the pulley system which got the tourists safely to the ground.

No-one was believed to have been injured in the incident on Wednesday.


Image: Mount Teide's 12,198ft summit is the highest point in Spain

The breakdown also left around 200 tourists trapped in a station at the top of the cable car system, many of whom had to stay the night in a refuge as they were unable to navigate down the rocky terrain.

Four helicopters were used to bring them down.

Image: Many were left stranded in a station at the top of the cable car

Officials say they do not know what caused the cable car system to break down.

Mount Teide is one of Tenerife's most popular tourist spots and its 12,198ft summit is the highest point in Spain.