Investigation into Gondola Accident in Austria
10th January 2024
Last modified on January 12th, 2024
Four members of a Danish family have been seriously hurt in the accident in the Hochoetz ski resort in the Tirol. An investigation is underway.
Their gondola dropped 12m after a tree fell on a support cable.
“The gondola crashed in a very stony area, although the rescue chain functioned very well,” said Michaela Burger from the cable car company to the Austrian public broadcaster, ORF..
“The rescuers were on site immediately but the terrain made it very difficult and the helicopters couldn’t get there very easily.”
It was a difficult rescue operation due to the steepness of the slope.
The people were winched to safety into a helicopter.
One of the group is in hospital in Innsbruck with serious injuries.
They were a father, his son and daughter and their uncle.
The men are 44 and 49 years old.
The children are believed to be aged 17 and 19.
Two other people in another gondola were slightly injured.
The gondola was midway on the lift between the eighth and ninth pylon at the time of the accident.
All the other gondolas on the Acherkogelbahn lift were undamaged.
It is thought the tree landed directly on the connecting bracket that attached the gondola to the support cable.
An investigation is underway.
