Bulgarian P.M. stuck on ski lift

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The prime minister of Bulgaria spent 40 minutes stuck on a ski lift Wednesday with a member of his cabinet, local officials and a gaggle of reporters.

Sergey Stanishev and his companions were rescued by security guards, the Sofia News Agency reported. Stanishev and the others were in lift cabins about 100 feet above the ground.

The prime minister had gone to the new Kartata resort to survey damage from recent forest fires in Rila National Park 62 miles south of Sofia. He returned to Sofia immediately after returning to the ground to celebrate a public holiday.

The ski lift suffered a mechanical breakdown, officials said.