Cable car disaster sees 4 people seriously injured as tree smashes into ski lift

09 January 2024 , 15:03

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Allegedly a tree fell on the cable of the Acherkogelbahn in the Hochoetz skiing area of Tyrol province, bringing down the car (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)

A cable car crashed in a busy Austrian skiing region on Tuesday with all four people on board seriously injured, police have confirmed.

A tree is believed to have fallen on the cable of the Acherkogelbahn in the Hochoetz skiing area of Tyrol province, bringing down the car, the Austria Press Agency reported. The ski slope and lift were temporarily closed and riders in other cable cars were evacuated from its upper or lower terminals, the operator said. It is not yet clear what height the car fell from.

Police confirmed that everyone inside the car at the time of the incident was badly injured. Deputy district commander Michael Haid told Tyrol's regional news broadcaster the victims are all believed to be members from a single family.

He said: "We only know that it concerns a father, his son and daughter and an uncle. So it seems to be about a family. We don't know yet where they come from. "One photograph taken at the scene shows a medical helicopter removing a passenger from the crash site. Another shows what looks like a second injured passenger on a stretcher in a car park after being rescued.

A cable car crashed on Tuesday in a skiing region in western Austria (Alamy Stock Photo)

According to Hochoetz cable car spokesperson Michaela Burger, one passenger in a critical condition was taken by medical helicopter to the Innsbruck Medical University hospital. The three remaining passengers were taken to Zams hospital, having been rescued via helicopter.

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The car is believed to have been between the eighth and ninth supports of the route, approximately in the middle of the Acherkogelbahn, when the accident happened, resorts officials confirmed. A combination of mountain rescue services, medical hospitals and police received the injured victims after they were taken away from the scene by helicopter. Operation officials reported the operation was considered particularly treacherous because of the difficult terrain.

Whilst multiple trees fell on the cable, such an incident is "highly unlikely" to cause a cable car to fall to the ground - and the incident is now being investigated. Approximately sixty other cable cars are in circulation on the Acherkogelbahn route, all of which were brought safely to a standstill and pulled back to the station after the accident.

Matt Clemenson