11-year-old Schoolgirl Injured in Ski Lift Collapse at Spanish Resort, Skiers Thrown Through Air, Police Investigating Chairlift Safety

One of the individuals injured in a chairlift derailment at a ski resort in Spain was an 11-year-old girl. The incident, which happened on Saturday, resulted in 10 skiers being hurt, with some being thrown 50 feet from their seats while others were left hanging upside down.

The shocking event took place at Astun Ski Resort, located in the Aragon Valley in northeastern Spain. In the aftermath, emergency services swiftly arrived at the scene to assist those involved in the distressing situation.

Two 18-year-old women are in critical condition and are currently receiving medical treatment in the ICU. 

One of the women, who is said to have sustained the most severe injuries, was airlifted to a nearby hospital. 

An 11-year-old girl and a 67-year-old women were among the injured skiers and were rushed to hospital, but are said to have mild injuries. 

Initially, it was reported that 30 individuals had sustained injuries, including nine who were deemed to be seriously injured. However, it was later confirmed that the actual number of casualties was much lower than initially stated.

Five helicopters and a dozen ambulances were dispatched to the resort to ferry the injured to nearby hospitals, local media said.

According to Aragon Government’s head of emergencies Miguel Angel Clavero, the incident was caused by a failure of the return on one of the charlifts’ that ’caused loss of tension and led to chairlifts falling’, leaving around 80 skiers stranded. 

‘We are on a chair… thank God we have not fallen. But on arrival they did fall and there are people injured,’ one witness wrote on Twitter/X

Medical and emergency teams at the Astun Winter Complex

An emergency helicopter flies over the ski lifts at the Astum ski resort in Huesca, Spain, northern Spain on Saturday, Jan 18, 2025

However, the resort said in a statement later in the day that the causes are still ‘unknown’ and are currently being investigated. 

The President of the Aragon region, Jorge Azcon, travelled to the scene of the incident and said that the skilift had passed all ‘relevant controls’.

He also praised the ‘impeccable work’ of first responders. 

One of the survivors, who gave his name as Oscar, told a Spanish TV station today: ‘A pulley wheel appears to have broken or come loose and the cable started to jump around and every time it happened we went up and down.

‘We were lucky in that we didn’t hit the ground but there were people in front of us who did hit the ground and received blows to their faces and other parts of their body.’

One skier who witnessed the drama said: ‘Thank God we haven’t fallen but others have and there are lots of people injured.’ 

Another witness said people were flung into the air as the chairlifts bounced up and down, with several skiers left hanging upside down from the skilifts. 

Others were flung off the, with dramatic footage from Saturday’s scenes showing people spread across the ground.

‘Suddenly we heard a sound and we fell straight to the ground, inside the chair. We bounced up and down about five times and our backs were quite sore or we were hurt, but there were people who fell out of the chairs,’ María Moreno told public television TVE.

A number of people were injured on 18 January during a failure on a chairlift

Seventeen of the victims are said to be seriously hurt and others are said to be still ‘clinging to the cable’

Hospitals in the region have been told casualties are on their way

‘The truth is that we were very scared,’ said Moreno, adding that must be people with serious injuries because ‘the chair hit them directly’ when it collapsed.

‘It’s like a cable came loose and suddenly all the chairs started to bounce and people went flying,’ a young man told TVE. 

Fernando Beltran, a representative of Spain’s government in Aragon, later posted on X that ‘all the skiers affected by the accident’ have been evacuated and those who were injured were receiving medical treatment. 

A special telephone number for families of the victims has been set up.

Initially it was reported Jaca Hospital was the only one to have been put on alert but a number of other hospitals in the region have also been told casualties are on their way. 

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said in a tweet: ‘Shocked by the news of the accident at Astun ski resort.

An emergency helicopter flies over the ski lifts at the Astum ski resort in Huesca, Spain, northern Spain on Saturday, Jan 18, 2025

‘I have spoken to Aragon president Jorge Azcon to offer him the government’s full support.’

The resort closed its doors for the day following the horror accident, but it said its slopes will reopen on Sunday. 

The Aragon regional government says the total number of casualties is unknown because evacuations are still taking place but at the moment it is aware of ‘eight people who are seriously hurt and nine who are very seriously injured.’