In a horrifying accident in the Swiss ski area of Mythenregion, near Schwyz, an empty gondola cabin broke free from the cable and fell to the ground. Nobody was hurt and authorities are looking into the matter.
The incident occurred just after 11am on Sunday, October 20th on an 8-person gondola in the Rotenfluebahn Mythenregion AG. The gondola cabin fell about 20 metres to the ground below, where it broke into pieces. By a stroke of luck, about 50 passengers who were in another cabin were able to disembark with no injuries whatsoever. The gondola remained closed for the rest of the day and part of Monday.
Kurz vor Sonntagmittag, 20. Okt. 2019, ist eine Gondel der Rotenfluebahn abgestürzt. Personen wurden nicht verletzt. Der Unfallhergang und die Unfallursache werden in Zusammenarbeit mit der Schweizerischen Unfalluntersuchungsstelle ermittelt.
— Kantonspolizei SZ (@KapoSchwyz) October 20, 2019
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The Mythenregion is a small ski area with about 50 km of slopes and a maximum altitude of 1593 m above sea level. The gondola in question is a fairly new gondola that was built in 2014. It is suspected that the strong winds of almost 140km/h may have played a role in the accident. At the time, the gondola was already being emptied of passengers as a precaution. The cabin fell during this process, which takes about 20 minutes.
Born and raised in the ski paradise of Vancouver, Canada, I learned to ski before I can remember, balancing precariously on my parents’ skis as they sailed down the hill. I started snowboarding in my teens and am now delighted to be exploring everything Europe’s ski scene has to offer!
