A tourist aged 53 was discovered deceased by ski resort staff upon the gondola’s arrival at the mountain summit. The individual’s body was found by the gondola operator on January 6 afternoon at Val Cenis ski resort in Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France. It is suspected that the tourist experienced a cardiac arrest after boarding the mountain lift alone.
Efforts to revive the man with a defibrillator by two ski patrollers were unsuccessful, and emergency services, along with local police, responded promptly but pronounced the man dead at the scene. On the same day, another tragic incident occurred at Les Menuires resort in Savoie, where a Spanish skier was discovered unconscious near a rock in an unmarked skiing area.
A five-year-old boy tragically passed away at Asarigawa Onsen ski resort in Otaru, Japan, on December 28 after his arm became caught on a lift. The child fell and got trapped in the ski travelator machinery, as reported by Japanese media. Authorities are currently investigating the incident at the popular ski resort.
Local reports indicate that Hinata Goto fell while stepping off the travelator, trapping his right arm in the machinery. Despite the safety mechanism, the machine only stopped when the boy’s mother activated the emergency stop. Rescue efforts involved dismantling parts of the travelator for about 40 minutes to free the unconscious boy, who was then taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Authorities are probing the incident to determine if there was any negligence in the travelator’s installation or maintenance. Staff at Asarigawa Onsen Ski Resort mentioned that the safety mechanism had been operational earlier on the day of the incident.
The 30m long and 60cm wide travelator, installed approximately six years ago, serves as a connection between the resort’s car park and ski slopes. Travelator ski lifts, commonly known as “magic carpet” lifts, are typically found on beginner slopes. Visitors have reported instances of stumbling on the specific travelator where the tragedy occurred, according to Japanese media reports.