By Catherine Nicholls and Duarte Mendonca, CNN
Ski resort of Astun a Jaca in Spain. Photo: IDRISS BIGOU-GILLES/AFP
Dozens of people were injured after a ski lift collapsed at a resort in Spain, emergency officials told CNN.
Some 30 people were injured in the incident, which happened at around 12pm (local time) at the Astun ski resort in the Pyrenees mountains, the Aragon civil protection press office told CNN.
Of those injured, 10 people were transferred to hospital, two with "maximum priority" and another two "who require urgent attention," the press office said. There were no fatalities, it added.
The ski lift is 15 metres high, the Spanish Civil Guard said in a post on X.
Colaboramos en las tareas de auxilio tras un accidente en la estación de esquí de Astún (Huesca) donde se ha descolgado una línea de telesilla de 15 metros de altura. Participan guardias civiles del Grupo de Rescate e Intervención en Montaña, Servicio Aéreo y Seguridad Ciudadana… pic.twitter.com/weioCLGGOc
— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) January 18, 2025
Part of its structure collapsed after one of its pulleys became loose, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported. As it fell, the chairs on the ski lift were destabilised, turning some of them upside down, RTVE said.
Video from the scene posted by the Civil Guard showed dozens of people standing in the snow on a mountain, stuck there after the ski lift broke.
"It's like a cable has come off, the chairs have bounced and people have been thrown off," one witness told RTVE.
By 3pm local time, all of those left stranded by the collapse of the ski left were evacuated, the Spanish government's delegate in Aragon, Fernando Beltrán Blazquez, posted to X.
Spain's President Pedro Sanchez said he was "shocked" by the news, adding that he had spoken to Aragon's president to offer him the Spanish government's support.
"All of our affection goes to the injured and their families," Sanchez said.
- CNN
