A ski lift collapsed in northern Spain, injuring at least 30 people, 17 of them seriously.
The Aston Resort in Spain’s Pyrenees, where the accident occurred, is closed and rescue teams are on the scene.
Photos and videos circulating on social media show numerous people lying on the snow beneath ski lifts.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked” by news of the incident.
Ambulances and helicopters are transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.
A Spanish public broadcaster reported that dozens of people were still clinging to the 15-metre high chairlift awaiting rescue.
A witness told local media that cables appeared to have been ripped off, chairs were thrown and people were thrown from the elevator.
According to AFP, Miguel Ángel Clavero, emergency manager for the Aragon region where the incident occurred, told public television TVE: “Some 30 to 35 people were injured, including serious, very serious and less serious injuries. “I wore it,” he said.
“Apparently the return pulley on one of the chairlifts failed which caused the cable to lose tension, causing some chairs to fall and others to remain hanging,” he said.
Images on social media show one of the lift’s flywheels missing a spoke.
The cause of the cable failure is currently unknown.
Witness Jamie Pelegri said on social media that the Canal Roya chairlift collapsed.
“Luckily we’re okay, but there are injuries,” the Spotify advertising director said. “I saw several stretchers being brought down.”
Footage posted by Spain’s Guardia Civil shows a helicopter flying past the scene before landing to allow emergency workers to disembark.
Regional President Jorge Azcon and Spanish Interior Minister Roberto Bermudez de Castro are heading to the ski resort to assess the extent of the accident.
Azcón wrote to X: “All necessary services (of the government) are working to help those affected and injured.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had spoken with Azcon and offered his government’s “full support.”
