The Festoure chairlift in the SuperDévoluy station broke down on Tuesday, December 24 due to a mechanical problem. Emergency services intervened to evacuate the 240 people who were on the ski lift.
As he was preparing to go down the slopes this Tuesday, December 24, Nathan found himself stuck on the Festoure chairlift in the Alpine resort of Superdévoluy for several hours.
“I stayed at the top for 3.5 hours. I was one of the last seats to be rescued,” Nathan explains to BFMTV.
Among the people airlifted by the emergency services, some were “quite afraid” due to vertigo, continues the skier, which is why “we took them down first (…) and all those who were less afraid, we put last. I'm not afraid of heights so it was fine”, he assures.
Around 1 p.m., the Festoure chairlift broke down due to an electrical problem with the motors, while 240 people were on the ski lift. The Devoluarde ski resort quickly set in motion to bring down the stranded skiers, with a team of rescuers and ski patrollers.
“We were not far from the finish and it got stuck. We stayed more than two hours waiting. Fortunately we had the sun in our faces,” Marjorie Palazzolo, 47, a medical assistant, told AFP by telephone. psychological.
“We said to ourselves 'well, we're going to spend Christmas here'”, and they then thought of “the cult scene” from the film Les Bronzés sont du ski when Michel Blanc, alias Jean-Claude Dusse, stuck alone on a chairlift at nightfall, sings the song “Etoile des neiges”.
“We sang Snow Star at the top of our lungs. When some started to go down, some applauded,” continues the forty-year-old, praising the work of the emergency services: “the rescuers were great. It was well managed.”
“We have to go quite quickly”
Gendarmes, dozens of firefighters from the mountain group, as well as two ambulances, and a team from the department's fire and rescue service were mobilized.
“They (the gendarmes) climbed on the pylons, they put straps on us and made us rappel down each in turn,” says Nathan. “I was in full sun, I couldn't feel my feet and fingers, but it was fine (…). But those who were in the shade I think they must have been cold,” adds he.
However, the evacuation took place “in very favorable conditions, since the weather was very good”, Lieutenant Nicolas Chaon, second in command of the PGIM of Briançon, told BFMTV.
In this type of situation, “we have to move fairly quickly, but at the same time, we have to ensure the security of everything and the coordination of resources,” he continues.
Contrary to what one might think, “it is not simpler” to rescue skiers stranded on a marked slope than in the high mountains, explains Lieutenant Nicolas Chaon. In the station, emergency services must in particular assess the “risk of collision” with the pylons and cables of the ski lifts and the trees in the surrounding area.
“If it takes time, it’s also because we ensure the safety of everyone: rescuers, ski patrollers and of course skiers who are stuck on the seats,” he added.
