Over 200 US skiers stranded after chairlift derails
By DPA, IANSTuesday, December 28, 2010
WASHINGTON - About 220 skiers were stranded and at least six injured after a chairlift derailed at a ski resort on Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.
The Spillway East chairlift derailed Tuesday morning after the rope cable slipped over the edge of a pulley, and five chairs fell an estimated 9-12 metres to the ground, the resort said in a statement.
A resort spokesman said all the stranded skiers were evacuated, having to climb down one at a time using harnesses and ropes. The cause of the accident was being investigated.
The East Spillway double chairlift is 1.2 km long, and has 162 chairs. It was installed in 1975 and modified in 1983, the resort said, adding that it gets weekly, monthly and yearly maintenance checks.
The resort received about half a metre of fresh snow because of a blizzard over the weekend. The temperature was about minus 13 degrees Celsius Tuesday, with winds of about 50 km per hour.
