Video: Hundreds of skiers rescued from cable cars after high winds bring tree down on wire
No one was injured in the successful evacuation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hundreds of skiers had to be rescued from their cable gondolas in northern Italy after strong winds brought a tree crashing into the connecting wire.
Rescue teams scrambled to save nearly 200 skiers trapped inside the gondolas amid fears that the cables could snap after a 100ft fir tree was blown onto the line by high winds.
The tourists, enjoying the northern Italian resort in Val Gardena, were evacuated from 20 gondolas by 100 local emergency response individuals.
The trapped holiday-makers were either airlifted directly out of their gondolas or rescuers climbed onto the cars and attached ropes, allowing the skiers to abseil to safety.
“We were really lucky. We’d just gone up, the cabin was already closed and ready to go but a staff member noticed the tree and stopped everything,” one skier told the BBC.
No one was injured in the evacuation.
Northern Italy has been plagued by strong weather, with 80mph winds recorded in the resort. Two people have died as a result of the weather, with one man killed in a car accident and a woman crushed by a falling tree in Urbanio, in the Emilia Romagna region.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments