A cable car carriage carrying 16 people hit the arrival station at the ski resort of Val Thorens at around 7:30 am on Tuesday morning.
A cable car at “Cime Caron 3195 m” leading to the high panorama viewing site of the Val Thorens ski resort, in the French Alps, on August 10, 2018. PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP
At least eight workers have been injured, two seriously, in a cable car accident Tuesday, November 19, at the ski resort of Val Thorens in the French Alps, authorities said. None of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.
The accident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday during challenging weather conditions in the Alps above 3,000 meters, according to a statement from the Savoie prefecture, or regional administration. A cabin of the Cime Caron cable car, used for construction work, hit the arrival station while carrying 16 workers.
Emergency responders, including firefighters, paramedics, ski patrollers, and high-mountain rescue teams, were deployed to the site. The injured workers were evacuated using a nearby gondola, officials said. The prefecture set up a crisis management cell and a “mass casualty plan” to coordinate rescue efforts.
Franรงois Ravier, the prefect for the Savoy region, said the injured had been transferred to hospitals in Annecy and Grenoble. He did not give any details about the cause of the accident. “It is too early to know the exact circumstances that led to this accident,” Ravier said. “We will have to wait for the preliminary results of the investigation.”
