This is the terrifying moment skiers plunged 50ft to the ground after a chairlift derailed at a Spanish mountain resort.
An 11-year-old girl was among the 10 skiers hurt in the drama on Saturday at Astun Ski Resort in the heart of the Aragon Valley in north-east Spain.
Two 18-year-old women were critically injured and admitted to hospital intensive care units following the shocking incident.
The first piece of footage showing the moment the near-tragedy unfolded emerged overnight.
Aragon Government’s head of emergencies Miguel Angel Clavero said on Saturday, following initial reports around 30 people had been injured and some 80 skiers had been stranded, that the incident was caused by a failure of the return on one of the chairlifts’ that ’caused loss of tension and led to chairlifts falling.’
A skier filming the horror scenes said seconds before skiers were seen plunging to the ground: ‘The chairlift has just come to a screeching halt and it’s a miracle we haven’t been killed.
‘Loads of people have fallen from their chairs.
‘The chairlift turned virtually 180 degrees and over there you can see people on the ground.
An 11-year-old girl was among the 10 skiers hurt in the drama on Saturday at Astun Ski Resort
Bodies were seen tumbling off the lift to the slopes below
The first piece of footage showing the moment the near-tragedy unfolded emerged overnight
Victims fell 50 feet to the ground as a chairlift derailed at the Spanish ski station
‘There’ll be people injured because lots have fallen and others who were frightened have jumped.
‘Snowmobiles I’m assuming have medical responders on board are on their way, and they’ve told us over the loudspeakers to stay calm and help is on its way.
‘The first helicopters are also on their way to evacuate the most seriously injured casualties.’
Subsequent tannoy messages to skiers as the evacuation operation continued urged them to be patient while the injured were tended to first.
Police are continuing to investigate Saturday’s chaos, although separate probes are being conducted by the regional government and the ski resort.
The chairlift was opened in 1990 and had passed all its regular inspections.
The last check took place in 2021 and the next one had been scheduled for 2026.
Ski resort boss Andres Pita said: ‘What happened shouldn’t have happened and we’re working on trying to find out the exact cause and minimise risks, but zero risk doesn’t exit.’
Tannoy messages to skiers as the evacuation operation continued urged them to be patient while the injured were tended to first
Skiers plunged to the ground after falling from the chairlift, while others jumped
The ski resort has now reopened but the chairlift on the Canal Roya where the near-tragedy occurred is going to remain closed for the time being.
As well as the 11-year-old schoolgirl, a 67-year-old woman was also among the injured skiers.
The Aragon Government said initially it was aware of ‘eight people who were seriously hurt and nine who were very seriously injured’ before it became apparent the number of casualties was less than first thought.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet on Saturday: ‘Shocked by the news of the accident at Astun ski resort.
‘I have spoken to Aragon president Jorge Azcon to offer him the government’s full support.’
Miguel Ángel Clavero, the Aragon Government’s head of emergencies, said at just after 2.15pm local time the day of the drama: ‘There’s been a failure of the return on one of the chairlifts and that has caused loss of tension and led to chairlifts falling.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
