Ski Lift Collapse Injures Dozens of People and Traps About 80 Skiers in Chairlifts at Resort: ‘We Were Hurt’

A ski lift that collapsed at a resort in the Pyrenees mountains in Spain left dozens of people injured and more skiers trapped in chairlifts, according to Spain’s Civil Guard.

The law enforcement agency shared in an X post that it was coordinating rescue efforts with other agencies, including Mountain Rescue, at the Astún ski resort in the Aragon region of Spain on Saturday, Jan. 18, after a “15-meter high chairlift line” fell.

Alongside the post, the Civil Guard shared a video of Civil Guard members getting into a helicopter and flying to the resort. One clip showed a large group of people gathered in the snow below a section of the ski lifts, which were immobile. Another scene appeared to show crowds of people gathered outside the resort as the ski lift was being fixed.

About 30 people were injured in the incident, though no fatalities were reported, regional emergency services told The Guardian and CNN. Ten people were transported to the hospital — two of whom were transported with “maximum priority” and another two who required “urgent attention,” according to the outlets.

About 80 others remained hanging on the chairlifts as emergency services got to the scene, according to Reuters.

Miguel Ángel Clavero, the head of Aragon’s emergency services, told Aragon TV, per The Guardian, that the incident caused the closure of the ski station and people there were asked to leave so that the parking lot could be cleared.

He also said that the accident appeared to have been caused by “a failure in the ski lift return system, which produced a breakdown in tension.”

“In the first instance, as people are still on the lift, Guardia Civil officers, firefighters and ski station workers are trying to get them down and to safety,” he added.

One witness told local station TVE, per Reuters and CNN: “It’s like a cable has come off, the chairs have bounced and people have been thrown off.”

“Suddenly we heard a sound and we fell straight to the ground, inside the chair,” another skier, María Moreno, told TVE, per The Guardian. “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.”

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reacted to the news of the incident in a post on X, writing, per a translation, “Shocked by the news of the accident at the #Astún station, I have spoken to the President of Aragon @Jorge_Azcon to offer him the government’s full support.”

“We send all our love to the injured and to their families,” he added.