Industry News
The gondola at Mont Sainte-Anne, near Quebec City, came to such a sudden stop Friday morning it left 21 people injured, including 12 who were taken to hospital by ambulance, reports CBC.
Eyewitnesses say the abruptness of the stop caused some cabins to swing almost completely around the lift cable, throwing skis and poles from the external racks, and hitting lift towers causing windows to break.
“We started to swing from one side to the other,” he said. “We almost did a 360. Two of the three cabin windows came out and another passenger almost fell out. We had to hold him by his feet.”
The ski resort managed to restart the lift and checked passengers for injuries when they disembarked. The lift has 80 gondolas that can carry up to eight passengers each. AN official statement from the resort read:
We would like to highlight the exemplary work of the first responders, as well as to thank all those who contributed to the response to yesterday morning’s incident at the cable car. We have warm and sincere thoughts for all passengers on board during this incident, and we wish our injured customers a speedy recovery.
The teams of Mont-Sainte-Anne and the mechanical lift manufacturer, as well as specialized contractors, have been carrying out a complete inspection of the lift since yesterday afternoon to determine the cause of the sudden unexpected stop. We take this incident very seriously and we are determined to highlight what caused it.
The resort will be launching an investigation to find out the cause of the incident and compensation for those who were injured is possible if the investigation finds that the resort was negligent.
