Switzerland: Gondola crashes in ski resort – at least one injured

Engelberg (Switzerland) – The gondola of a cable car crashed in a Swiss ski resort in the canton of Obwalden on Wednesday. A video recording shows a cabin falling down a snow-covered slope and overturning several times. The police confirmed in the afternoon that one person had died.

Despite strong winds with peaks of more than 80 km/h, some facilities in the second largest ski area in central Switzerland, Engelberg (82 kilometers of slopes) on the 3,238 meter high Alpine peak Titlis, were open on Wednesday.

Witnesses describe crash

According to current information on the website of the “Titlis Xpress Trübsee” gondola lift ski area However, it was closed due to “strong winds”. Shortly after 11 a.m., a gondola was torn down from this facility above the middle station, a witness told the Swiss portal “20min”. An eyewitness told the “Blick” portal: “It was winding strongly. Then there was a jerk where the rope moved.” That was apparently the moment the gondola broke off the rope. Eventually the cabin crashed.

A video shows how the demolished gondola falls down a slope next to the piste and overturns several times. Further footage shows the landing of a rescue helicopter and how a person arrives after it Accident needs to be revived. Mountain rescuers “tried to revive a person for at least 30 minutes,” “Blick” quotes the “shocking sight” that an eyewitness had to see.

Police confirm death

Despite all efforts, the accident victim succumbed to his serious injuries. As police chief Senad Sakic from the responsible police in Nidwalden announced at an impromptu press conference on site, the person was sitting alone in the gondola when it crashed. The police initially did not provide any information about his identity. Sakic: “We can’t say anything about the person until the identity is clarified.”

The ski area was closed after the accident. Skiers and snowboarders had to leave the slopes. They were brought down to the valley in gondolas and cable cars that were still running. The evacuation continued in the afternoon.