One killed as cable car plunges down Swiss mountainside

Summary

• A cable car detached at the Engelberg-Titlis ski resort in the Swiss Alps amid strong winds on March 18.
• One person, who was alone in the gondola of the Hitlis Express cable car, sustained fatal injuries in the accident.
• Preliminary information suggests high winds may have been a factor, but the cause is under investigation; alarms trigger at 40kmh and 60kmh.

ENGELBURG, Switzerland – One person was killed on the morning of March 18 when a cable car suddenly detached amid strong winds and plunged down a snowy slope at a Swiss Alpine ski resort, police said.

The incident happened at the Engelberg-Titlis ski resort, high up in the Alps in central Switzerland.

Videos from witnesses published by the Blick and 20Minutes online news sites showed a small cabin that had detached and violently toppled down a snowy slope.

“At the time of the accident one person was alone in the gondola. This person sustained fatal injuries,” Mr Senad Sakic, with the regional police in Nidwalden canton, told reporters.

He did not give the age or nationality of the individual.

He said preliminary information indicated that “a gondola on the Hitlis Express cable car from Engelberg towards Stand crashed shortly after the Trubsee middle station”, he said.

The Rega rescue service confirmed to AFP that it had sent a helicopter response crew to the area, without providing more details.

Police would not comment on the cause of the accident, saying this was being investigated.

Media reported that strong winds might have been the cause, with Switzerland’s Met Office indicating that winds of up to 93kmh had been lashing the area when the accident happened.

“At 40kmh, a wind alarm goes off for this sort of cable car. At that speed, the personnel are on high alert. And at 60kmh, another wind alarm goes off requiring the system come to a stop,” the head of the resort’s ski lifts, Mr Norbert Pratt, said.

He added that he did not know if high winds were the cause of the accident. AFP