- A chair on the chairlift at Tussey Mountain slipped loose and slid backwards
- It slid backwards into another chair, causing a domino effect on the rope
- By the end of it, four chairs carrying skiers and snowboarders had slipped in to one another
- Five people – all of whom work for the resort – suffered non-life-threatening injuries
- The chairlift was carrying 20 people, all of whom were evacuated once it had stopped
- They were pictured being hoisted down by emergency services on ropes
Five people have been injured in a chairlift accident in Pennsylvania.
The ski lift malfunctioned on Tussey Mountain near Boalsburg on Saturday afternoon as hundreds of snow sports enthusiasts descended on the slopes to make the most of fresh powder.
The malfunction was caused when one chair, which was carrying resort staff, slid backwards into another.
The weight of it caused a domino effect and, once the lift had been stopped, four had been slammed together.
It was a dramatic sight which sparked panic on the mountain and led the evacuation of the entire chairlift.
A child is evacuated from another seat after the chairlift was brought to a stop. Emergency service workers used ropes to hoist people down
The chairlift at Tussey Mountain was halted and emergency services evacuated it. This was the scene not long after the accident
Everyone who was on it when it malfunctioned had to be hoisted down by emergency services.
The five people who were injured are all mountain staff and none suffered life threatening injuries.
It slipped back which caused a domino effect which resulted in a total of four slipped chairs
Tussey Mountain Director of Marketing Aaron Weyman
Tussey Mountain staff told DailyMail.com that it was an ‘unfortunate’ accident which they are now looking in to.
They dismissed reports that skiers were ‘crushed and pinned’ beneath the heavy lift, saying: ‘We had a malfunction, a chair carrying skiers and snowboarders slipped along the hull rope and slipped back which caused a domino effect which resulted in a total of four slipped chairs.
‘They did not fall, they did not collapse, no one was crushed.
‘There were minor injuries which we are saddened by but we are encouraged that they’re all non-life-threatening,’ Aaron Weyman, the resort’s Director of Marketing, said.
‘The chairlift was stopped and we got everyone off,’ he added.
There was panic on the mountain in the initial aftermath.