Fallen gondola cabin shuts down British Columbia ski resort
By Marnie Hunter, CNN
(CNN) — Eight people escaped serious injury after a gondola cabin they were riding in at a ski destination in Canada fell to the ground, prompting the resort to suspend operations.
Monday’s incident at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in British Columbia was blamed on a broken lift hangar, which caused the cabin to fall one meter (3.3 feet). The resort remained closed for the remainder of the day.
“At 9:20 am, an incident occurred involving a cabin at the base terminal of Golden Eagle Express gondola,” reads a statement posted on the resort’s website.
“Based on preliminary findings, a lift hanger broke while this carrier was leaving the bottom station causing it to fall approximately one meter to the ground.”
According to the statement, there were eight passengers in the cabin, however “no one was seriously injured during the incident.”
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.
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 its mountain safety teams had safely unloaded the passengers from the lift as per standard operating procedures “involving a full manual evacuation using rope rescue and helicopter rescue.”
The statement said the resort would open on Tuesday, however the Golden Eagle Express gondola, the ski area’s primary lift, will remain closed until further notice.
“A full inspection of the Golden Eagle Express gondola is now underway, supported by the manufacturer’s specialists along with relevant authorities to determine root causes and further steps,” said the Kicking Horse statement.
The accident came after 23 centimeters (9 inches) of fresh snow fell on the mountain within the past 24 hours.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
