Schoolgirl, 11, among dozens injured in Spain ski lift horror after riders were ‘flung 50ft from ride by broken pulley’
A SCHOOLGIRL is among the 30 skiers who were injured in the horror chairlift accident that saw riders flung 50ft from their chairs in Spain.
The horrific incident occurred at Astun Ski Resort in the heart of the Aragon Valley in north-eastern Spain, leaving an 11-year-old schoolgirl among the wounded.
Two 18-year-old women are in critical condition and are currently receiving medical treatment in the ICU.
A 67-year-old is also thought to be among the wounded.
The horror derailment accident saw several people trapped as emergency services rushed to the scene.
It is believed that the incident was caused by a failure of the return on one of the chairlifts, according to Aragon Government’s head of emergencies Miguel Angel Clavero.
This caused a loss of tension and led to the chairlifts falling and leaving 80 skiers stranded after the ski lifts plunged from various heights, including 15 metres up.
A survivor, who gave him name as Oscar, said: “A pulley wheel appears to have broken or come loose and the cable started to jump around and every time it happened we went up and down.
“We were lucky in that we didn’t hit the ground but there were people in front of us who did hit the ground and received blows to their faces and other parts of their body.”
Another skier who saw the drama unfold commented: “Thank God we haven’t fallen but others have and there are lots of people injured.”
María Moreno told public television TVE: “Suddenly we heard a sound and we fell straight to the ground, inside the chair.
“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.”
One witness reported that people were flung from the chairs as they bounced up and down.
Evacuations are still taking place at the moment, so it is unclear exactly what the injury count is.
At the moment the Aragon regional government is aware of eight people who are seriously hurt and nine who are very seriously injured.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked by the news of the accident”.
He said: “All our affection to the injured and their families.”
Meanwhile President of the government of Aragon Jorge Azcón said on X that he was travelling to the scene of the accident.
Azcón said on X: “All the necessary services of the DGA are working to assist the affected and injured people.”
The Spanish prime minister also said he had talked with Azcón to “offer him the full support of the government”.
A phone line has been set up for the families of those affected.