Status: 26.12.2023, 19:18 PM
By: Moritz Bletzinger
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Trees fall on chairlift: Seven injured in the Racines ski area. © South Tyrolean Fire Brigade Association
Storm shock on Blosegg in the Racines ski area in South Tyrol. Trees crashed on a chairlift, seven people were injured.
Racines – A picture of devastation in the Racines ski area. Strong winds caused several trees to fall on the suspension cable of the lift at Blosegg. The impact tore a chair from its anchorage, it crashed into the two following ones.
Trees fall on chairlift at Racines ski resort: Major rescue operation in South Tyrol
For three hours, the mountain rescue service, the White Cross and the South Tyrolean fire brigade were on duty. The Pelikan 2 rescue helicopter also arrived.
Fortunately, the affected seats were empty at the time of the accident. Nevertheless, four people were moderately injured and three others slightly injured, according to the South Tyrolean Fire Brigade Association. They were taken to the hospitals in Sterzig and Brixen.
The fire brigade and mountain rescue evacuated all skiers from the chairlift. An elaborate, large-scale operation, which was made more difficult by the strong wind.
"Why do people have to go skiing?": Chairlift accident in South Tyrol triggers discussions
On Facebook, many people blame the affected winter sports enthusiasts themselves. "Why do people have to go skiing when 120 kilometers per hour wind is forecast?" asks one woman. "I wouldn't sit in there," says another.
Still others see the lift operator as having a duty to react in good time. "Why do the lifts have to run when there's such a storm?" says one user. One man writes: "The idiots are the lift operators, not the skiers."
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At what wind speed do lifts run? – "There are clear procedures and alert levels"
In South Tyrol, all cable cars must be equipped with a sensor that measures wind speed. From 60 km/h, cable cars must be stopped, says expert Johann Zelger at RaiNews. "There are very clear procedures and alert levels." However, some ski lifts can also withstand wind speeds of up to 100 km/h. Cable car accidents during storms happen again and again in South Tyrol.
Trees are a completely different problem. Creating a safe distance from the railways is unthinkable, says Zelger. Then the aisles would be 50 meters wide. That's why operators have to take precautions here and regularly inspect the route with the forestry authority.
As in the south of Germany, strong gusts are currently sweeping through Austria and Italy. On Saturday, they reached 147 km/h on the Samerberg and 129 km/h on the Wilder Freiger, writes state meteorologist Dieter Peterlin on X (Twitter). Storm "Zoltan" triggered firefighting operations throughout the Alpine region. (moe)