Chairlift malfunction sees skiers at Spanish resort fall to ground, trapped on lift

Several people were treated at a medical centre at the Astun ski resort in the Pyrenees, Spain after a chairlift malfunction caused multiple injuries. Photo / Getty Images

Thirty people were injured on Saturday, four of them seriously, when a chairlift broke down at a Spanish ski resort near the French border, regional officials said.

The accident at the Astun ski resort in the Pyrenees occurred around midday (local time).

Officials said 10 people had been hospitalised, while another 20 were treated at the ski station by emergency services.

“Apparently, there was a failure in the return pulley of one of the chairlifts and this caused the cable to lose tension, causing some chairs to fall and others to remain hanging,” said Miguel Angel Clavero, emergencies director for the Aragon region, where Astun is located.

Sobre el accidente en #Astún, el telesilla NO “ha descarrilado”, la sirga NO se ha roto y ha aguantado. Se ha roto la pieza más débil y que más tensión soporta, la que sujeta la rueda al final del recorrido, justo al final de Canal Roya.

Teléfono de familiares: 976 71 59 80 pic.twitter.com/uo6VtcWA33

— Ibón Domínguez 🛂 🇪🇸🇺🇦 (@Ibon_Dominguez) January 18, 2025

Aragon’s top official Jorge Azcon said one woman had been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. Three others were also seriously injured.

The chairlift malfunction left some skiers dangling in mid-air, while several others fell to the ground.

“Suddenly we heard a sound and we fell straight to the ground, inside the chair,” Maria Moreno told public television TVE.

“We bounced up and down about five times and our backs were quite sore or we were hurt, but there were people who fell out of the chairs.”

“The truth is that we were very scared,” said Moreno, adding there must be people with serious injuries because “the chair hit them directly” when it collapsed.

“It’s like a cable came loose, and suddenly all the chairs started to bounce and people went flying,” a young man told TVE.

Azcon said on social media platform X everything was being done to attend to those affected.

Five helicopters and a dozen ambulances were sent to the resort, where a makeshift hospital had been set up.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X he had spoken to Azcon and offered government support.

– Agence France-Presse