Three snowboarders injured Australia’s longest chairlift dislodges in ‘freak gust of wind’

Three snowboarders sustained injuries when a chairlift became detached due to an unexpected “gust of wind” at Thredbo Ski Resort, the location of Australia’s longest ski lift.

Two women and a man in their 20s suffered back and facial injuries after one of the chairs detached from the Kosciuszko ski lift on Saturday afternoon.

The snowboarders plunged to the ground while approaching the top of the mountain after the chair plummeted several metres onto the snow near Eagles Nest.

Thredbo Ski Resort said the incident was an isolated accident and was caused by a “freak gust of wind”.

“No other guests or chairs were affected. Thredbo is committed to the safety of our guests and our people,” it said in a statement.

“The incident is currently being thoroughly investigated by SafeWork NSW and an independent engineer. Thredbo assures guests that their safety is paramount and that we will continue to apply our high standards of safety and risk management.”

Images shared online showed injured people being assisted by the members of the ski patrol as the chair lay in the snow.

Operations at the Kosciuszko chairlift — Australia’s longest at almost two kilometres — were temporarily halted for inspections.

The chairlift was built 33 years ago to replace the old double chair in 1990.

A wind gust reaching a speed of 65 km/h was registered just before the accident at the nearby weather station, situated close to the top station of the chairlift. The storm system dumped fresh snow across the ski fields.

This marks the latest occurrence of a chairlift incident at Thredbo, which earned the title of Australia’s best ski resort for the fifth consecutive year in 2022.

In 2019, a skier experienced minor bruising but remained otherwise unharmed when a chair detached from the Gunbarrel Chairlift, a four-seater similar to the Kosciuszko Chairlift.