Ski lift collapse injures at least 30 people in the Pyrenees
According to reports, at least 30 people were injured after a ski lift partially collapsed in northern Spain.
The Aston resort in the Spanish Pyrenees, where the incident occurred, has been closed while rescuers rushed to the scene.
Pictures and videos circulating on social media showed scores of people lying in the snow below ski lifts.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was “shocked” by news of the incident.
A pulley at one end of the cable car came loose and part of the structure supporting it collapsed, causing the cable to lose tension and several seats to fall. According to national television station TVE.
According to local media reports, 17 people required medical assistance.
Ambulances and helicopters took some of the injured to hospitals.
Dozens of people hanging on a 15 m (50 ft) high cable car have been rescued.
Jaime Pelegri, who was in the lift, told the BBC that a cable lost tension before the chair on his side collapsed.
“It was very scary, but very fast,” he said, adding that an ambulance and helicopter were at the scene within 15 minutes.
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Miguel Ángel Clavero, emergency director of the Aragon region where the incident took place, told TVE: “We are talking about about 30 to 35 injuries, including serious, very serious and less severe injuries.
“Apparently the return pulley on one of the cable cars malfunctioned, causing the cables to lose tension and causing some chairs to fall while others were left hanging in the air,” he said.
Pictures on social media appeared to show one of the cable car’s flywheels detached from its columns. The cause of the incident is unclear.
The president of the autonomous region, Jorge Azcon, and Spanish Interior Minister Roberto Bermudez de Castro went to the scene.
Azcón wrote on: “(Government) All necessary services are working to assist those affected and injured.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he had spoken to Azcon and offered the government’s “full support.”
A telephone hotline has been set up for the families of those affected.
Popular with skiers, the Aston resort is located in the Aragon region of the Pyrenees, close to the French border.
