Wed, Sep 07, 2005
More Than 100 Rescued From Dangling Cab
Nine people -- six of them children -- died Monday when a
helicopter accidentally dropped a concrete block on an Austrian
cable car. More than 100 people in other cable cars were
rescued.
The helicopter, type not yet known, was reportedly carrying the
1,653 pound block to the top of the mountain at the Soelden ski
resort, about 1650 feet above the cable car. The load detached from
the helicopter and struck the cable, shaking one car so violently
that it fell to the rocks below.
"Everything happened very quickly and now we have nine people
dead," Solden Mayor Ernst Schoepf told Austrian television. "The
block dropped on the cable, set it swinging, causing one car to
fall and the others to swing around."
Other reports indicated the concrete block hit the cable car
itself.
"The people and cars fell about 15 meters," said police
spokesman Gottlieb Huetter. "The injuries of some survivors were
quite bad. People were flung out of the cars when they collided due
to the vibration on the cables."
The dead were identified as vacationing Germans. Soelden is a
popular destination in both summer and winter, with more than 3,000
cable cars and ski lifts. A dozen helicopters worked to rescue
those stranded in swinging cars while rescuers worked on the ground
as well.
Ten of those rescued were said to have been seriously
injured.
Roy Knaus, who runs Heli Alpin Knaus, the company which operated
the helicopter, said the unidentified pilot was "in a state of
shock," according to British news reports. Knaus said an
investigation is now underway to determine why the helicopter
dropped the load.
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