More than 200 people were trapped and several others injured today after a ski lift broke down at Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Maine, causing several skiers to fall to the ground, a resort manager said.
Ethan Austin, a spokesman for the resort, said the derailment on one tower of the Spillway East lift happened around 10:30 a.m. ET, when the cable skipped over the edge of the pulley. Five of the lift’s chairs fell 25 to 30 feet and hit the ground, he said.
Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, Maine, received three patients and was expecting four more, according to spokeswoman Jill Gray. Another patient was brought in by ambulance, but was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland by helicopter, Gray said.
Robb Atkinson, a CNN employee who was initially also trapped on the lift, said he saw skiers fall from the lift when it came to an abrupt stop during high winds.
