Terrifying moment ski-goers cling on for dear life as 60mph winds violently toss Italy cable car from side to side
At least one of the lifts had ski-goers on board
THIS is the terrifying moment skiers are left clinging on for their lives as 60mph winds terrorise cable cars dangling above the slopes.
Chilling footage shows several chairlifts at an Italian ski resort being violently shaken around in the horrendous conditions.
People can be seen helplessly sitting in one of the lifts as the cable cars are thrown side to side as the awful weather tosses them about.
Some of the lifts can be seen flipping 270 degrees as the winds – which can reach up to 62mph in the area – thrashes them around like toys.
Clips of the horrifying ordeal circulated online with one showing at least 12 chairlifts in an uncontrollable frenzy.
Another captures at least one pair of legs hanging from a lift travelling across the snow covered mountain resort.
It is unclear if there were any other people going up the slopes at the time.
A man – who took one of the wild clips – took to social media and claimed at least five people were stuck mid air during the howling winds.
Before adding: “Ten chairs damaged and removed from the lift.
“The person filmed from the chair has been airlifted to hospital but was seen walking with ski patrol.”
The resort operator Cervino Spa confirmed that no one sustained any major injuries.
The facility at Breuil-Cervinia Ski Resort, northern Italy, was quickly closed to the public after the dreadful weather started to take its toll.
Those sitting perilously on the lifts in the videos were the final people heading back up the slopes for the day.
Federico Maquignaz, president of Cervino spa, told The Sun: “Violent, unpredictable gusts of wind hit the town, a real storm and access to the lift was immediately closed, while the chairlift continued to move to allow passengers still in line to disembark.
“Due to the wind there was a fault in the line, the technicians climbed onto the pylons to check the situation and put the chairlift back into operation.
“At extremely low speed and with the utmost caution, necessary for these operations, they were all taken to the top without any consequences, neither for the skiers who remained stranded, nor for the technicians who intervened.
“Unfortunately, these are extreme situations that cannot be predicted and which remind us once again of the unpredictability of the mountains.”
Known as the Cretaz lift, the chairlifts in the clips are part of a huge cross-border ski resort complex that connects Italy to Switzerland.
The Alpine resort sits at an elevation of over 6,600ft.
Another crazy ski lift incident saw ski-goers drenched with a huge plume of freezing water while dangling in the air.
The shocking incident took place at Beech Mountain Ski Resort in North Carolina on January 7, 2022, when a water line ruptured.
Beech Mountain Resort management said the mishap occurred when a guest smashed into a water and air hydrant causing it to burst.
Two visitors were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.
