Gudauri ski lift accident leaves at least ten injured

At least ten people were injured in a ski-lift crush in Georgia’s mountain resort of Gudauri.

The citizens of Georgia, Ukraine, Russia and Sweden were reportedly taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

A ski lift malfunction was reported at Sadzele mountain ski trail in Gudauri in the morning on 16 March. There was an emergency stop after which the ski lift chairs started sliding back. The riders had to jump off the ski lift to survive.

The first video from the accident scene was published on the Facebook page a few minutes ago.

The video shows people falling off the fast-moving ski lift gondolas:

According to the Georgian Healthcare Minister, David Sergeenko, 8 people turned to the Gudauri-based medical emergency clinic.

“Luckily no one was killed or seriously injured. There are two patients, the nationals of Ukraine and Sweden, who still need to be paid particular attention,” said David Sergeenko. According to the Georgian Healthcare Minister, the Ukrainian citizen has an open fracture of a forearm, while another injured person, a Swedish national, is a pregnant woman. Both of them have been transported from Gudauri to Tbilisi by helicopter.

The Georgian Ministry of Interior has instituted criminal proceedings under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Georgia – “violation of safety regulations or procedures for the operation of the railway, water, air or cableway transport traffic”.