At least 30 people injured at Spanish resort as chair lift collapses on ski slope
AT least 30 people have been injured at a Spanish resort after a chair lift collapsed on a ski slope.
Emergency services are currently working at the Astún ski resort in Huesca while several choppers are in use to urgently assist and transport those involved in the horror accident.
Some skiiers and snowboarders are currently still dangling from the chairs of the lift while a mass evacuation takes place.
The resort has stopped operating due to the horror incident on the Canal Roya runway.
The exact number of those seriously injured is currently unknown, but sources suggest there may be at least 10 people who are being transferred to a nearby hospital.
One woman is being transferred to hospital via helicopter.
All hospitals in the vicinity have been notified and are on alert to receive the injured, but a field hospital has reportedly been set up in the area to carry out initial triage.
According to the Government of Aragon, two medical helicopters from Aragon, one from Navarra, another from the GREIM unit and a rescue chopper have been mobilised.
Firefighters and 10 ambulances are also at the scene, El Espanol reports.
The cause of the accident is currently not confirmed, but, according to witnesses and images of the area, the cause could have been a breakage of the chair lift cable, COPE claims.
The President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, and the Minister of the Interior, Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, are on their way to the ski resort to understand the extent of the accident.
Azcón said on X: “All the necessary services of the DGA are working to assist the affected and injured people.”
It comes after a female Brit died in a horror accidental ski crash with another UK tourist while on a difficult black slope in France.
The 62-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene after she reportedly lost control of her skies and crashed into the fellow Brit at the Les Arcs resort.
The unnamed woman is said to have crashed head-on into a 35-year-old man on the black slope of the Aiguille Rouge run, according to French news outlet Le Dauphine.
The “violent” crash reportedly took place today at around 10:30am in the Savoie region in the French Alps.
The British man was stood still at the time on the piste and suffered a broken leg.
He was quickly rushed to a local hospital in the region, say reports.
Both victims were wearing helmets at the time of the fatal crash, say reports.
It is still unclear how the woman died with investigations ongoing into the exact cause of the accident.
Black slopes are known as the most difficult courses to navigate are are often very steep.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirmed they are supporting the family of the British woman.