Tragic accident this morning, January 25th, in the Alpe di Siusi ski area in South Tyrol. An 83 year old woman lost her life falling from the chairlift of the Punta d’Oro lift a quarter of an hour before midday. The dynamics are not yet completely clear but in flight, of seven metresshe also got involved another 69 year old lady who was sitting with the victim. She suffered serious injuries and was immediately transferred by the Pelikan 2 helicopter to the San Maurizio hospital in Bolzano in critical condition. Both are from South Tyrol.
The accident
Unfortunately, the deceased elderly woman did not survive the trauma to her head and chest as well as multiple fractures throughout her body. Resuscitation attempts of the woman, of Ortisei, they were intense but death occurred on the spot shortly after the fall. The other injured woman, however, had chest trauma, head and back injuries as well as a broken leg. During the medical intervention she was alert and her condition remained stable during the helicopter transport. She remembered nothing, however, of the accident, explaining that they were on the descent part of the lift and not the ascent. An element, however, that remains to be ascertained because the risk is that the woman was very confused. Not only that, after the accident the plant continued to move, carrying the cabin where the two women were sitting. It is therefore difficult to establish whether the booking dome had been correctly lowered.
The plant
The Goldknpf/Punta d’Oro chairlift has four-seater seats and connects the Paradiso and Floralpina slopes and was built in 2002 by Doppemayr. It is a high-speed chairlift (five meters per second) with protective domes and heated seats. It covers a height difference of 370 meters in six and a half minutes starting from 1,850 meters at the valley station and reaching 2,220 meters upstream. It will be difficult to understand, however, what exactly happened cause the two women to fall. Investigations into the system by the Carabinieri of the local station are underway with the mountain rescue men in support. The police also questioned the other skiers present at the time of the accident but did not find any eyewitnesses at the time.
