Emergency services rescued 65 people stranded in mid-air Sunday after a collision on a cable car line high above the Rhine river in Cologne, a spokesman for the fire department said.

The line was immobilized for hours, and passengers were stuck in their cable cars. Twenty children were among those stranded.

Rescue workers had to abseil passengers onto a fire department boat on the river. Other passengers clambered to safety on the shore or a major bridge from fire truck ladders. There were no injuries.

The last person was rescued some five hours after the collision on the line. Emergency crews from surrounding towns were called in to help. More than 100 people were involved in the rescue effort.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," according to fire department spokesman Christian Heinisch.

Cologne authorities provided counselling for those people who had been stranded and were rescued.