Two young women remain in intensive care after a chairlift at a ski resort in Spain collapsed on Saturday, leaving several people injured.
The Astún resort in the Spanish Pyrenees, where the incident happened, was closed as rescue services attended the scene but has since reopened.
A pulley failure appears to have caused a cable to slacken and some chairs to drop to the ground, throwing skiers into the snow.
Authorities are investigating what went wrong, state media reports. A statement from the resort stressed it has “all the permits and inspections”.
Regional officials initially estimated that about 30 people had been hurt, but the ski resort later said around 15 people had been considered injured.
Local emergency services triaged those who had fallen at the resort. They said 10 people were taken to hospital, and 20 others were discharged “on the spot”.
The two 18-year-olds in the worst condition were airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Zaragoza, Spanish state media reports. One is said to be stable while the other remains under observation but is improving.
A pulley at one end of the chairlift came loose and part of the structure supporting it collapsed, causing a cable to lose tension and several seats to fall, according the state broadcaster TVE.
Dozens of people left hanging on the 15m-high (50ft) chairlift were helped down.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked” by the news of the incident.
Jaime Pelegri, who was on the lift, told the BBC that a cable lost tension before the chairs on his side of the structure fell.
“It was very scary, but very fast,” he said – adding that ambulances and helicopters arrived at the scene within 15 minutes.
He wrote in a post on X earlier: “Luckily we are fine but there are injured people, we have seen several stretchers coming down.”
Images on social media appear to show one of the chairlift’s flywheels off its upright.
Regional President Jorge Azcón and Spain’s Minister of the Interior Roberto Bermúdez de Castro went to the scene.
Azcón wrote on X: “All the necessary services of the [government] are working to assist the affected and injured people.”
PM Pedro Sánchez said he had spoken with Azcón to offer the “full support” of the government.
A telephone line has been set up for the families of those affected.
The Astún resort, which is popular with Spanish skiers, is located in the Aragon region of the Pyrenees mountains, near the border with France.
