04 April 2023 , 06:55
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An intoxicated man has fallen 130ft to his death from a ski lift in France as he was impaled on a pole.
He was "messing about" while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed through a plastic window on a ski lift, according to prosecutors and the company responsible for operating the lift.
The tragedy happened on Saturday while the victim and another man were heading back down the mountain at the Deuz Alpes resort.
Local prosecutor Eric Vaillant said: "[They] were messing about in the lift when the 29-year-old smashed through the plexiglass screen and fell 40 metres (130 feet) to his death."
French media reported that the duo had been filming themselves in the moments before the fall.
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The victim, who weighed more than 15 stone (100kg/210lb), crashed through the flimsy screen after smashing himself into it.
France Bleu said that he impaled himself on a piste marker, a pole which shows the difficulty of the terrain, after the massive fall.
The Les Deux Alpes is the highest resort of its kind in France (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Director of the Deux Alpes resort Fabrice Boutet, who has denied any responsibility for the accident, told BFM: "These are lifts built for 20 people.
"If there's movement caused by abrupt braking or something else, they are designed to resist impacts.
"This stupid accident was caused by him gaining momentum and throwing himself against the plexiglass."
An investigation has been launched and the ski lift is set to be thoroughly examined.
Les Deux Alpes is the highest resort of its kind in France.
The owner of the resort called it a "stupid accident" (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Earlier this year, a Brit who fell "several dozen metres" died after suffering cardiac arrest while skiing off-piste in Meribel, a resort north-east of Les Deux Alpes.
He "took off" into the air before coming back down on a rocky slope, leaving him with severe injuries.
During the 2021-22 ski season, the French National Mountain Safety Observation System recorded 12 fatalities, the Times reports.
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Another 45,000 people sustained injuries while on the slopes, with 50,000 incidents attended by emergency responders.