Horror as four skiers plunge to ground as lift chair detaches from cable in ‘freak gust of wind’ at Aussie resort
FOUR riders plunged to the floor after their ski lift became detached in a “freak gust of wind”.
The horror incident took place around halfway up a chairlift at the Thredbo Ski resort in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday afternoon.
Two women in their 20s were treated at the scene for back injuries before being airlifted to hospital after falling several metres onto the snow.
A man in his 20s also suffered facial injuries in the fall and was taken to hospital for further treatment.
A spokesperson for the resort said the incident was caused by “a freak gust of wind”.
They added: “Thredbo can confirm there was an isolated incident affecting a single chair on Kosciuszko Chairlift at approximately 2.20pm on Saturday caused by a freak gust of wind.
“There were no major injuries caused, and the three guests involved are being looked after by the team. No other guests or chairs were affected.
“Thredbo is committed to the safety of our guests and our people. The incident is currently being thoroughly investigated by SafeWork NSW and an independent engineer.
“Thredbo assures guests that their safety is paramount and that we will continue to apply our high standards of safety and risk management.”
The Kosciuszko Chairlift is almost two kilometres in length, making it Australia’s longest ski lift, and was completed around 33 years ago.
It comes as gusts of up to 65kmph were recorded in the area on Saturday.
The incident also follows a similar fall at the resort in 2019, when a skiier fell 30-feet from the Gunbarrel quad chairlift shortly before it arrived at the top of a hill.
The rider suffered minor bruising in the fall.