Four injured in Swiss cable car accident
Four people were taken to hospital after they fell from a private cable car in the canton of Bern on Saturday.
Police were informed early on Saturday afternoon about the accident which saw five people falling as they were on their way up to the Alp Unterniesen area in Bern’s Kandertal valley.
Three women and a man were injured in the incident while a second man was uninjured, cantonal police said in a statement.
Three helicopters were involved in the rescue mission, with the injured taken to different hospitals.
Two of the women were able to leave hospital later in the day on Saturday. Police said the other two people had been seriously injured but were not in a critical condition.
Pictures from the accident site published on Swiss news portal 20 Minuten show a cable snapped in half and a damaged carrier box that had been suspended from the cable.
The site reported that the private cable car was designed to transport goods and material, not people.
One farmer was quoted as saying he had personally used the cable car to save himself a 15-minute walk up the hill, although he was aware this wasn’t "fully permitted".
“Apparently five of them squashed into the carrier box. They were really lucky,” said another resident of Saturday’s accident.
The incident is now being investigated by the police.
Read also: Stranded tourists airlifted from iconic Schilthorn peak
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Police were informed early on Saturday afternoon about the accident which saw five people falling as they were on their way up to the Alp Unterniesen area in Bern’s Kandertal valley.
Three women and a man were injured in the incident while a second man was uninjured, cantonal police said in a statement.
Three helicopters were involved in the rescue mission, with the injured taken to different hospitals.
Two of the women were able to leave hospital later in the day on Saturday. Police said the other two people had been seriously injured but were not in a critical condition.
Pictures from the accident site published on Swiss news portal 20 Minuten show a cable snapped in half and a damaged carrier box that had been suspended from the cable.
The site reported that the private cable car was designed to transport goods and material, not people.
One farmer was quoted as saying he had personally used the cable car to save himself a 15-minute walk up the hill, although he was aware this wasn’t "fully permitted".
“Apparently five of them squashed into the carrier box. They were really lucky,” said another resident of Saturday’s accident.
The incident is now being investigated by the police.
Read also: Stranded tourists airlifted from iconic Schilthorn peak
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