Hundreds of skiers had to be plucked from a mountain top by a fleet of helicopters after they were left stranded by a massive power cut.

More than 600 winter sports fans at the Engstligenalp resort in the Bernese Highlands in the Swiss Alps were trapped up the mountain when the electricity failed.

The outage meant that cable cars couldn’t operate leaving rescuers just hours to get everyone down before failing daylight made helicopters too dangerous to use.

Four choppers were scambled by mountain rescue teams to carry out the emergency evacuation, reports local media.

One image from the mountain top shows row after row of anxious skiers queuing for their turn on a rescue copter.

Energy supplier BKW admitted: “We have had a power outage in the Kandertal in the Bernese Oberland.

“Three substations in this region are without power: Frutigen, Kandergrund, and Adelboden.”

BKW confirmed that more than 16,000 households were hit by the failure and added: “Three quarters of them were able to have power restored after around two hours.

“After 5pm everyone affected had power again.

“The cause of the power outage is currently being investigated. In the beginning, there were problems with two lines that lead from Lenk and Frutigen to Adelboden.

“BKW deeply regrets the inconvenience caused by the power outage.”

One resident told local media how she turned to camping gear to cook a makeshift meal of spaghetti and sauce.

She said: “I was just about to cook lunch when suddenly nothing worked.

“When I tried to make myself a coffee after lunch, everything suddenly worked again.”