Dozens of skiers and snowboarders at Mont Ste Marie have been successfully rescued after being trapped on a chairlift for hours.
The Vanier ski lift at Mont Ste Marie, a ski resort about one hour north of Ottawa, broke down around 12:25 p.m. with approximately 80 people on it. Climbing equipment, specifically seat harnesses, were used to get people down.
“We throw a climbing apparatus over the cable, and then people attach themselves to it and get lowered down,” said Bob Suderman, the owner of Mont Ste Marie.
The full evacuation took approximately three hours, with the last person rescued shortly before 4 p.m. Passengers had to be rescued one carrier at a time.
The evacuation was ordered after a bearing at the top of the lift broke. Suderman said the lift could not be fixed safely while people were on it.
“As a precaution, we chose to get everyone off the lift and that took about three hours,” he said.
“Everyone was safe, but a few were pretty cold. We had blankets and hot chocolate and that sort of stuff to go around to help everyone out.”
No injuries were reported, although several people reported seeing paramedics on scene.
