Dozens injured in Spanish ski lift collapse
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Dozens injured in Spanish ski lift collapse

Many still trapped as rescue efforts continue after cable failure

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An aerial view shows people gathered around chairlifts following an accident in which a ski lift collapsed at a resort in Astun, Huesca, Spain on Jan 18. (Photo: Still from video by Spanish Guardia Civil via Reuters)
An aerial view shows people gathered around chairlifts following an accident in which a ski lift collapsed at a resort in Astun, Huesca, Spain on Jan 18. (Photo: Still from video by Spanish Guardia Civil via Reuters)

MADRID - A ski lift collapsed at a resort in the Spanish region of Aragon on Saturday, injuring dozens of people, nine of them very seriously and eight seriously, the regional government said.

Around 80 people remain trapped, hanging in the chairlift at the ski resort of Astun, in the province of Huesca, according to the state TV channel TVE.

“We are talking about around 30 to 35 people injured, including serious, very serious and less serious injuries,” Miguel Ángel Clavero, the director of emergencies for the Aragon region, where the incident occurred, told TVE.

“Apparently, there was a failure in the return pulley of one of the chairlifts and this caused the cable to lose tension, causing some chairs to fall and others to remain hanging,” Clavero said.

“It’s like a cable has come off, the chairs have bounced and people have been thrown off,” a witness told TVE.

The cause of the cable failure remains unknown.

The ski resort’s management declined to comment and was not immediately able to say if foreigners were among the injured.

Five helicopters and a dozen ambulances were dispatched to the resort to ferry the injured to nearby hospitals, local media said.

The Astun ski resort, mainly popular among Spanish skiers, is located close to the border with France, in the Pyrenees mountain range.

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