By TRAVELMAIL REPORTER

Shock fall: Skiers help the eight passengers who were hurt when the lift collapsed


A ski lift in Maine had been declared unsafe by maintenance workers just minutes before it collapsed injuring eight people, it has emerged.

Terrified skiers - including three children - plunged 25 feet to the ground at the Sugarloaf Mountain resort, after a cable on their chair lift came loose from its track.

Five chairs were sent hurtling into the slopes below and the eight passengers were sent to hospital while 150 others were left stranded on the lift for up to two hours.

While wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour are thought to have contributed to the accident, it has also been revealed that maintenance workers closed the lift earlier in the day due to safety fears.

The Spillway East chairlift was stopped in the morning as a cable was seen leaning outside its track, a fairly common problem according to experts.

However, the lift was later reopened to deal with the busy pistes in one of the most popular ski weeks of the year.

Workers were sent to examine the cable more closely at about 10.30am and saw that it urgently needed to be realigned.

They called the operators and told them to slow the lift down and not let anyone else board, so it could be closed once again.

However, their call came too late and within minutes the the cable slipped off its support tower, sending the five chairs crashing to the ground.


Fears: Workers were trying to close the lift just minutes before it collapsed


Authorities are now investigating whether the accident was preventable, although a spokesperson for the state's regulatory agency has confirmed that the strong winds played a 'contributing role' in the collapse.

The 35-year-old lift was due to be upgraded by 2020 as part of an investment plan.

But Ethan Austin, a spokesman for the Carrabassett Valley resort, said it was not unusual for a lift that old to still be in use.

Every lift is checked daily and receives weekly, monthly and annual testing by maintenance workers.


source: dailymail