One killed as cable car plunges down Swiss mountainside
The Straits Times
Winds of up to 93kmh were recorded in the area when the accident happened. Read more at straitstimes.com.
GENEVA – One person was killed in the morning on March 18 when a cable car suddenly detached amid strong winds and plunged down a snowy slope at a Swiss Alpine ski resort, the local police said.
The dramatic incident happened at the Engelberg ski resort, high up in the Alps in central Switzerland.
Videos from witnesses to the accident 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 said preliminary information indicated that “a gondola on the Hitlis Express cable car from Engelberg towards Stand crashed shortly after the Trubsee middle station”.
The Rega rescue service confirmed to AFP that it had sent a helicopter response crew to the area, without providing more details.
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