A tragedy occurred at the Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort in Quebec, near Montreal, when a piece of construction equipment hit a panoramic gondola carrying two Ontario tourists. The force of the impact caused both passengers, both in their 50s, to be knocked out of the gondola and sent plummeting to the ground. The man ultimately died, and the woman is currently in a Montreal area hospital in critical condition.
The Quebec provincial police are leading the investigation to determine the cause of the crash and to understand why the machine was operating under the gondola. So far, they have spoken to multiple witnesses, including resort workers and the drilling machine operator.
The Tremblant Resort Association confirmed the fatality and suspended all activities at the mountain. They said that the accident resulted from third-party operated machinery and expressed their deepest condolences to all those affected. Quebec’s Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx tweeted, expressing her close watch of the situation.
The cause of the crash is still unclear. It is a difficult reminder of the importance of safety protocols and the necessity of caution when operating heavy machinery. Moving forward, the thoughts and compassion of an entire nation are with the man who lost his life and the woman still fighting for hers in the hospital.