Thirty people were injured on Saturday, four of them seriously, when a chairlift broke down at a Spanish ski resort in the Pyrenees, near the French border.
The accident at a Astún ski resort in the Aragón region.
Officials said 10 people had been hospitalised while another 20 were treated at the ski station by emergency services.
‘Apparently, there was a failure in the return pulley of one of the chairlifts and this caused the cable to lose tension, causing some chairs to fall and others to remain hanging,’ said Miguel Angel Clavero, emergencies director for the Aragón region.
Aragón’s regional president Jorge Azcón said one woman had been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. Three others were also seriously injured.
The chairlift malfunction left some skiers dangling in mid-air, while several others fell to the ground.
‘Suddenly we heard a sound and we fell straight to the ground, inside the chair,’ one woman told public television TVE.
‘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.’
‘It’s like a cable came loose and suddenly all the chairs started to bounce and people went flying,’ a young man told the state broadcaster.
Azcón said on X (Twitter) that everything was being done to attend to those affected.
Five helicopters and a dozen ambulances were sent to the resort, where a makeshift hospital had been set up.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X he had spoken to Azcón and offered government support.
Varios heridos al desprenderse un telesilla en la estación de esquí de Astún, Aragón
Actualizamos la información con los compañeros de @rtvearagonhttps://t.co/1YKsdA9W20 pic.twitter.com/HubHgO4TvX
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) January 18, 2025
¡Buenas noches! 🌙 Componentes del Regimiento de Infantería «América» nº 66 de Cazadores de #Montaña, con sede en Navarra, se han desplazado con rapidez al lugar del accidente del telesilla en la estación de esquí de #Astún, #Huesca.
➡️ Han apoyado in situ en la atención a los… pic.twitter.com/we7L4uTdAW— Ejército de Tierra 🇪🇸 (@EjercitoTierra) January 18, 2025
Impactado por las noticias del accidente en la estación de #Astún. He hablado con el presidente de Aragón @Jorge_Azcon para ofrecerle todo el apoyo del Gobierno.
Todo nuestro afecto para los heridos y sus familias.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 18, 2025
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