France — A scary situation led to eight construction workers being injured at the world’s largest ski area.
On Tuesday, weather conditions were not ideal, resulting in the Cima Caron tram at Val Thorens violently swinging into the arrival station. Human error is also a potential cause, as it’s possible that the operator didn’t slow it down enough while entering the station.
One worker described the scenes that caused the injuries to Le Parisien:
“Before arriving, we are used to the cabin braking and decelerating, and that was not the case this morning. Suddenly we all flew towards the front of the cabin. People hit the safety bars. The impact was violent.”
The cable car was carrying seventeen people overall, sixteen of whom were construction workers tasked with completing the new restaurant atop Cima Caron. Eight individuals were injured, two of whom were seriously hurt. However, the two injuries are not considered to be life-threatening. Over 120 first responders reported to the scene to help out the injured.
Val Thorens is one of the three ski resorts that make up Les 3 Vallées, the largest ski resort in the world. Combined with the other two, Courchevel and Meribel, there are 335 trails and 183 lifts. Val Thorens’ projected opening date is still November 23rd.
Image/Video Credits: Val Thorens, Préfet de la Savoie, Le Parisien, Les 3 Vallées
