Child, 11, seriously hurt after falling from ski lift at French resort
They were airlifted to hospital yesterday
An inquiry has now been opened into the circumstances of the accident
Jiri 'Tashi' Vondracek/Shutterstock
An 11-year-old child was seriously injured after falling from a ski lift at a resort in southeast France, prompting an inquiry into how the accident happened.
It happened on Sunday, January 12 at the Risoul ski station (Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), reported the Briançon PGHM (Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne, mountain rescue service) to BFM DICI.
The child’s injuries are not said to be life-threatening, but were severe enough that they were airlifted to the Briançon hospital by helicopter. They are still recovering.
The gendarmerie has now opened an inquiry into the circumstances of the incident in a bid to determine how it happened.
The incident comes weeks after a severe ski lift crash in the resort of Val Thorens (Savoie) injured eight workers, two seriously. The public prosecutor in that case has suggested that the accident may have been caused by human error, but “this does not rule out other technical causes that investigations could determine”.
Read more: Human error may have caused Val Thorens ski lift crash, says prosecutor
Read also: Man dies after falling 40 metres from cable car at French ski resort
Also in the Alps in late December, a ski lift breakdown in the resort of SuperDévoluy (Hautes-Alpes) required the evacuation of 240 people via helicopter, and the involvement of gendarmes, dozens of mountain firefighters, two ambulances, and a team from the department's fire and rescue service.
Read also: 240 skiers evacuated by helicopter after French ski lift breaks down
