Two interior ministry helicopters came to the rescue of the 72 tourists stranded in the Bâlea Lac chalet, at an altitude of more than six thousand feet. 40 of them were high school students. According to the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the helicopters carried them all to the locality of Cârţisoara in Sibiu County, where 72 hot cups of tea awaited them. Five transports were necessary to accomplish the task. The tourists were completely isolated because the cable car was out of service and there was no other way of coming down the mountain.