Gondola Tower Collapses at Ski ResortAP
posted: 44 MINUTES AGOcomments: 10filed under: World
NewsPrintShareText SizeAAAWHISTLER, British Columbia (Dec. 17) --
More than 50 people were evacuated from about 30 gondola cars after a
tower supporting the cables partially collapsed Tuesday at Canada's
Whistler ski resort.
Police said there were no serious injuries at the resort, which is to
host the alpine events of the 2010 winter Olympic games. Health
officials said earlier that five people had been taken to the
hospital after the mid-afternoon accident.
Mountain AccidentDarryl Dyck, The Canadian Press / AP5 photos Crews
work on a gondola support tower that partially collapsed Tuesday at a
ski resort in Whistler, British Columbia. Health officials reported
that five people were taken to a hospital after the accident, but
police said it resulted in no serious injuries.(Note: Please disable
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Graeme Bell said he was in a car that hit the ground.
"It was pretty freaky. We heard the noise of the tower collapsing and
then the cabin started shaking and down it went," Bell told CTV
television. "It hit the ground. It busted one of the windows and we
jumped out."
Bell said passengers were complaining of sore backs and one man had a
bloody head.
One of the cars hit a bus shelter, while two more were left dangling
when the tower collapsed. A crane was brought in to support the
leaning tower and fire crews worked quickly to evacuate three cars
that were the most in danger. The towers support a wire cable that
the gondola cars are attached to.
It took more than three hours to evacuate the 53 people stranded in
about 30 gondolas.
The resort said in a news release that the gondola section where the
incident took place is approximately 30 feet above the ground.
"We are very thankful that no one was seriously injured in this
incident," the release said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Steve Wright said the passengers
who were rescued were in good spirits and were met by emergency
health services. Frigid temperatures had not been a concern because
the people were wearing protective ski clothing and were in a
sheltered environment, he added.
Amber Turnau, a spokeswoman for the resort, said the tower that
collapsed is on the lower half of the lift. She said Tower 4, the one
that went down, is not far from the starting point.
The resort just unveiled a new lift connecting the peaks of Whistler
and Blackcomb mountains, the highest in the world at 1,427 feet above
the ground. But it was not affected by Tuesday's collapse, which was
on another lift.
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2008-12-17 01:13:41