Skiers injured after chairlift derails at resort in Maine

ski-lift-accident.notlong.com A 35-year-old chair lift due to be replaced has derailed in high winds, sending skiers – some of them children – plummeting into ungroomed snow at a popular Maine ski resort. http Five adults and three children were taken to hospital after the double-chair lift at Sugarloaf derailed yesterday at the resort 200 kilometres north of Portland. Dozens of skiers remained on the crippled lift for more than an hour until the ski patrol could get them down. It’s unclear whether the accident was wind-related or mechanical, officials said. The ski resort was being buffeted by winds gusting up to 65km/ha day after a blizzard blew through. The resort said the lift, which recently passed an inspection, was due to be replaced – possibly as early as this coming northern summer – partly because of vulnerability to wind. ski-lift-accident.notlong.com Five chairs fell seven-to nine metres onto a ski trail below, Sugarloaf spokesman Ethan Austin said. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Rebecca London, 20, one of the skiers who tumbled to the snow, told The Associated Press that her face hit a retaining bar but her goggles spared her from serious injury.http