Fallen gondola cabin shuts down British Columbia ski resort
A gondola cabin fell to the ground on Monday morning at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in British Columbia, shutting down the Canadian resort's operations.
A banner on the ski resort's website said 'closed until further notice' on Monday afternoon.
'At 9:20 am, an incident occurred involving a cabin at the base terminal of Golden Eagle Express gondola. Our patrol team and first responders were rapidly dispatched on scene,' reads a statement posted on the resort's website. The resort is located in Golden, British Columbia.
CNN Travel reached out to Kicking Horse for additional details but did not immediately receive a response to questions about the number of passengers or whether anyone was injured.
Witness Scott Wilson told CNN affiliate CBC that the cabin fell about three meters (roughly 10 feet) shortly after it was loaded with passengers and headed up the hill.
'Patrol responded right away and some bystander called 911,' Wilson told CBC. 'The doors came ajar in the fall but nobody could get out of the downed cabin. When my son and I left the area about five minutes later, the occupants were still trapped inside,' he said.
Each gondola cabin can hold eight passengers, according to the resort's website.
The resort said in its statement that maintenance and mountain safety teams were dispatched to unload gondola passengers.
'A full inspection has been initiated to determinate and analyze root causes,' the statement said. 'Teams from the manufacturer and relevant authorities have been called in to further assist.'
All lifts were closed to the public on Monday, and the statement said the resort would be 'closed for the remainder of the day.'
The Golden Eagle Express gondola, the ski area's primary lift, 'will remain closed until further notice,' the statement said.
The ski resort said it would provide additional updates related to resort operations later in the day. The accident came after 23 centimeters (9 inches) of fresh snow fell on the mountain within the past 24 hours.
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