Whistler (BC), Canada - A tower on Blackcomb Mountain's Excaliber Gondola collapsed suddenly on Tuesday afternoon, injuring several skiers and snowboarders and forcing an evacuation of the lift's occupants.


Whistler Blackcomb Ski Patrol and the Whistler Fire Department completed the evacuation of 53 passengers from the ski lift at 5:51 p.m. local time Tuesday afternoon, nearly three and a half hours of the incident. A crane was used to prevent the collapsed tower 4 from toppling further. None of the occupied gondola cabins dropped to the ground.

Crews work at the scene after a ski lift support tower partially collapsed at Blackcomb Mountain ski area in Whistler, British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon. (photo: AP/Darryl Dyck)

The injured were treated for minor injuries at the Whistler Medical Clinic. No serious injuries were reported, and the names of those injured were not released.

The Excalibur Gondola is a two-stage ski lift that rises from Whistler Village and terminates at the base of the Excelerator Chair. It is one of the ski resort's primary workhorse lifts to carry village guests up Blackcomb Mountain. The collapsed Tower 4 lies only a few blocks above the Village on the lower stage. The only other lift to connect Whistler Village to the mid- and upper-mountain areas on Blackcomb is the Wizard Express chairlift. The upper section of the gondola, independent of the lower section, was unaffected by the incident and was cleared immediately of guests by normal procedure.

The Excalibur Gondola was built in 1994 and undergoes an extensive safety check every year by the B.C. Safety Authority. The last check took place within the past six months, although a precise inspection date was not available at press time. Each gondola cabin holds eight people. The gondola section where the incident took place is approximate 30 feet above the ground.

A full investigation by Whistler Blackcomb and the B.C. Safety Authority is currently underway to determine the cause of the failure.