Ski lift collapses in Spain, injuring 15 people, but ’cause unknown’

Dozens of people were injured, some seriously, in a ski lift accident in Spain.

The incident occurred on a chairlift in the Astún ski resort, located at ul. Spanish borders France, in the Pyrenees mountain range.

The Astún ski resort said about 15 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Regional authorities had previously reported that at least 30 people were injured, nine of them very seriously.

“The causes of the accident are unknown and are currently under investigation,” the ministry said in a statement. “The facility has all permits and tests. Rescue and casualty transport protocols operated properly, evacuating all driveway users within two and a half hours.”

It said the station would be open to the public “during normal hours” tomorrow.

Jamie Pelegri, who was on the chairlift when it collapsed, told Sky News it was a “very scary moment” and that it happened “within seconds”.

“We were still going up, it looked like the rope had lost its tension,” he said. “At the same time, all the chairs in the elevator started falling, and we were actually a part of it.”

He added that when he and his wife had just entered the elevator, they were unharmed and “the chairs around us were moving backwards.”

But higher up in the elevator, “that’s where… more dangerous things happened and people got hurt.”

Pelegri added that some skiers appeared to have fallen “probably ten to over 15 meters… onto the snow.”

State television TVE reported that about 80 people were trapped on the chairlift.

A witness told the broadcaster: “It’s like a cable fell, chairs jumped and people were thrown.”

The cause of the incident is currently unknown.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed people lying on the floor near the ski lift. A helicopter was also seen landing at the facility.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked by the news of the accident.”

“Our whole sympathies go to the injured and their families,” he said.

The president of the Aragonese government, Jorge Azcón, said he had been informed about the incident and was going to the scene.

The Spanish prime minister also said he had spoken to Azcón “to offer him the government’s full support.”

A telephone line was opened for the victims’ families.

The Spanish Red Cross said it joined emergency services at the scene with an advanced life support ambulance and 11 other specialized vehicles.

Jaime Pelegrí, Spotify’s commercial director, who was at the scene, also wrote on X: “Accident in Astún. Canal Roy’s chair fell.

“Fortunately, nothing happened to us, but there were people injured, we saw several stretchers fall to the ground.”