San Francisco - Dozens of skiers and snowboarders were rescued from dangling ski gondolas at the Canadian resort of Whistler after a tower supporting the cable cars partially collapsed.

A spokesman for the ski resort, which is one of the largest in North America, said 53 passengers were rescued Tuesday. No serious injuries were reported even though about 30 gondola cars, each of which can hold eight passengers, were suspended in the air.

The broken tower was close to the base of the mountain. The partial collapse of a truss caused the cable to sag between the two adjacent towers although none hit the ground, pictures from Canadian Television News showed.

One gondola car came to rest on the roof of a bus shelter while rescuers used fire ladders to reach the stranded skiers in the other cabins.

Skiers were evacuated from the area and the resort was closed while authorities investigated the accident, resort spokeswoman Tabetha Boot said.

The gondola system was designed and built by the Dopelmayr/Garaventra Group, a German company, and was installed in 1994, according to the Vancouver Sun. It had not experienced any previous accidents. (dpa)