Man falls 20 feet after ski lift chair dislodges at New Hampshire resort

BARTLETT, N.H. (AP) — A man riding a ski lift fell about 20 feet (6 meters) to the ground after his chair detached and he suffered non-life-threatening injuries, New Hampshire authorities said.

Witnesses said the man was conscious following the fall at the Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett about 12:15 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, the state fire marshal’s office said in a news release.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears a mechanical failure caused one of the chairs to dislodge from the cable,” the marshal’s office said. No one else was hurt and all other passengers on the lift at the time were unloaded normally at the top of the lift.

The Flying Bear lift is closed while the investigation by the marshal’s office and the Passenger Tramway Safety Board continues, the news release said.

A spokesperson for Colorado-based Vail Resorts, which owns Attitash, said the resort does daily lift inspections.

“I’m there a lot and so it’s kind of scary, it’s a nightmare. The worst possible situation,” skier David Gunzburger told WMUR-TV.

He said he saw the ski patrol pulling an injured man on a sled. “He was backboarded, neck brace on,” Gunzburger said.