Industry News
A fatal lift accident occurred in the Seiseralm/Alpe di Siusi area of the Val Gardena/Gröden ski area in Italy on Thursday, January 25. Two women fell from a chairlift around 11:40 a.m., shortly after boarding the four-seater Doppelmayr. For reasons unknown, the pair was unable to lower the safety bar, and as the detachable chairlift sped up out of the base station, the pair was ejected from the chair near the third pilon. They fell from a height of about 7 meters (23 feet) onto the ski slope below. Despite efforts by rescue teams, one woman died at the scene while the other suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital in Bolzano/Bozen.
The four-chair in question is known as the “Goldknopf/Punta d’Oro” (English: gold button) chairlift, a detachable Doppelmayr 4-CLD-B, which slows as it enters the station and accelerates upon exit, with a capacity of 2,000 people per hour and a speed of 5m/s. The chairlift was installed in 2002 and was renovated for the 2023/24 season and equipped with new chairs that feature leather seats with seat heating and a bubble.
Both women were local residents, hailing from the town of Sankt Ulrich/Ortisei, in the valley of the ski area. The deceased is reportedly 82-year-old Erna Perathoner, while her injured friend was identified as 68-year-old Sanrda Comploj. Both women are said to be experienced skiers who had taken the same lift several times in the past. According to unconfirmed reports by eyewitnesses, one of the women moved forward to reach for the safety bar and slipped, while her friend instinctively tried to grab her and was pulled from the chair. However, the incident currently remains under investigation by the local police and we will await an official statement by the Castelrotto Carabinieri.
After initial investigations into the incident, the Goldknopf chairlift resumed operations on Thursday afternoon. Helmut Sartori, managing director of lift operations at Seiseralm/Alpe di Siusi, confirmed in interviews with local Italian newspapers that the incident was not due to technical issues but instead a terrible accident. The resort has on average six to seven accidents per year but has not had any fatal accidents in years, making Thursday’s accident even more dramatic according to Sartori.
The Seiseralm/Alpe di Siusi ski area is part of the Gröden/Val Gardena ski area, which in turn is part of the greater Dolomiti Superski area. Dolomiti Superski is one of the ski areas in Europe that are part of the Ikon Pass. Ikon passholders get seven days of unrestricted access to any of the 15 resorts in the ski area while Ikon Base Pass and Base Pass Plus holders get five days of access at the Italian resort.
