One dead after cable car detaches, plummets at Swiss ski resort
One person died Wednesday when a cable car cabin at a Swiss ski resort fell and crashed on a snowy mountainside.
The fatal incident happened at the ski resort of Engelberg in central Switzerland around 11 a.m. local time, authorities said.
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"A cabin of the ‘Titlis Xpress’ gondola lift between Trübsee and Stand detached from the cable and plunged down the snow-covered slope in rugged terrain," a press release states. "A person who was in the cabin at the time of the accident sustained fatal injuries."
The person was identified as a 61-year-old woman. Her exact cause of death has not been disclosed.
Investigators from several agencies were looking into how the accident happened.
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"It's also important for us that the incident is investigated down to the second. We will provide all the data without gaps," said Norbert Patt, CEO of Titlis cable cars, during a news conference, the Blick newspaper reported. "It's an extraordinary event. Gondolas shouldn't crash," he added.
Patt said there was a breeze at the time the gondola fell, but could not say how strong the winds were.
Several schoolchildren attending a ski camp witnessed the accident.
"I was really shocked. We were then afraid to go back down in the gondola," a 14-year-old girl told the news outlet.