MARCH 22, 2015
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, MAINE
A chairlift at a Maine ski resort stopped and then began
sliding backward down the mountain Saturday, prompting frantic riders to jump
off and injuring seven, officials and witnesses said.
The accident happened just days before the resort is to host
the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Tuesday.
"It was really scary," said David Segre, 42, of
Falmouth, who was standing in the crowded lift line. "It was like a gear
had let loose and it was slowly picking up speed going the wrong way."
"So all the chairs ... they were slipping backward. And
as gravity works they started to go faster and faster and people were jumping
off at the lower levels," he said.
The accident was is the second chairlift incident at
Sugarloaf in five years. In 2010, eight skiers were hurt when one of its
chairlifts derailed, causing five chairs to fall 25 to 35 feet to the ground.
Four people were taken to a hospital from Sugarloaf Mountain
Resort, though none are believed to have life-threatening injuries, resort
spokesman Ethan Austin said.
Sugarloaf officials said Saturday’s accident was a
“rollback” that carried riders backward a distance of about 450 feet.
The 3,400-foot chairlift receives routine daily inspections
for safety, Austin said. It passed state inspection on Oct. 29.
One man who wasn't able to jump off ended up going around
the loading area and heading up the mountain on the other side, Segre said.
The injured were treated by ski patrol and taken off the
mountain for treatment by emergency medical responders, Austin said.
About 230 people were riding the King Pine quad lift at the
time of the accident, officials said. Those still on board after the lift was
stopped were evacuated, a process that took about two hours.
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UPDATE 3: SUGARLOAF KING PINE LIFT INCIDENT
MARCH 21, 2015
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, MAINE (4:30PM
An inspector from the State of Maine Board of Elevator and
Tramway Safety is on site at Sugarloaf this afternoon to work with the resort
in investigating the causes of today's incident on the King Pine lift.
The lift experienced a rollback at 11:34am resulting in
injuries to a total of 7 guests. Four of those guests were transported to
Franklin Memorial Hospital with apparently non-life-threatening injuries (a
previous statement identified this number as 3).
A rollback refers to an incident in which the chairlift
travels backwards. The rollback did not cause the lift to de-rope. The lift
rolled back a distance of 9 chairs.
All guests were evacuated from the lift by Sugarloaf Ski
Patrol and other personnel by 1:22pm. A total of 204 people were evacuated from
the lift. No guests were injured during the lift evacuation process.
"Our first concern is with the guests who were injured
and all of those who were impacted by the incident at the resort today,"
Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin said. "Our staff is working with the
Tramway Board on a thorough investigation, and we are committed to
understanding the full cause of today's incident."
The King Pine Quad is a 4 passenger monocable fixed grip
quad built in 1988 and manufactured by Borvig. It is located on the eastern
side of the mountain. King Pine is 3,400 feet long with a vertical of 1,074
feet. The chair moves at a speed of 450 feet per minute and the chairs are
roughly 51 feet apart. There are a total of 122 chairs on the lift, which is
powered by a 400 horsepower motor. It has a transportation capacity of 2,100
skiers per hour.
The chairlift receives routine daily inspections for safety.
A routine daily inspection of the lift this morning by Sugarloaf's lift
maintenance staff revealed no irregularities.
Additionally, the chairlift receives weekly, monthly and
yearly maintenance and testing. The lift is also inspected annually by the
State of Maine Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety (Tramway Board). King Pine
was certified to operate by the Tramway Board on October 29, 2014 following its
annual inspection and a full dynamic load test.
The lift will remain closed until the investigation into the
cause of the accident is complete. All other chairlifts will continue to
operate as scheduled.
Sugarloaf is committed to the safety of its guests and its
employees.
We will issue further updates as additional information
becomes available.
For all information released today, please visit Sugarloaf's
media room at www.sugarloaf.com/media-room.