A failure in the return system of one of the chairlifts at the Astún ski resort, in the Pyrenees of Huesca, caused multiple injuries this Saturday, two of them serious and two others serious. The two serious people have been transferred by helicopter to the Miguel Servet and Clínico hospitals in Zaragoza, according to the latest report provided by the Government of Aragon. Two other people, of a minor nature, have been transferred to the hospitals in Huesca and Jaca, in addition to four other people also taken to the Jaca center.
The Government Delegation in Aragon has considered the emergency under control and has reported that the majority of those affected and injured have already been evacuated, around a quarantine.
The general director of Emergencies, Miguel Ángel Clavero, explained that a failure in the return system of one of the chairlifts caused the accident, which occurred at noon. The towline would have broken, the piece that supports the most tension, since it holds the wheel at the end of the route, at the summit of Canal Roya. This has caused a failure in the tension of the mechanism and a strong shake that has destabilized the chairlifts, some of which have been left upside down, according to police sources.
Photograph of members of the Civil Guard this Saturday, at the Astún station (Zaragoza).
JAVIER BLASCO / EFE
The authorities have activated an emergency protocol to guarantee medical care and security in the area. Official updates are expected in the coming hours. The winter station, where rescue teams remain, has been evacuated and remains closed to the public. In turn, a telephone number for family members has been set up (976715980).
Image of the damaged mechanical system
Capture/Third Parties
Two medical helicopters from the Government of Aragon, another medical helicopter from Navarra, one from the Mountain Civil Guard and another rescue helicopter from the Regional Community have participated in the rescue work for the injured.
-24 basic life support ambulances, five UVIs and three advanced life support with a nurse and fourteen conventional ambulances, both from 061 and from Navarra and the Red Cross, in addition to members of a health center, firefighters and volunteers from civil protection, civil protection technicians from the Government of Aragon are moving.
The Government Delegation in Aragon has considered under control the emergency caused this morning by the accident of a ski lift in the winter resort of Astún, in the Pyrenees of Huesca.
JAVIER BLASCO / EFE
All hospitals have also been activated to receive the injured, especially the closest ones (those in Jaca, Huesca, Miguel Servet, Clínico Universitario, Royo Villanova and Barbastro) and there are extra health personnel who will go to where they are most needed.
For the moment, the Civil Guard has confirmed the incident, and the members of the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group (Greim) continue working at the scene to address the emergency and evaluate the situation.
Sánchez offers collaboration and support to Azcón
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has expressed himself “shocked” by the accident and has conveyed “all the support of the Government” to the Aragonese Executive.
“Shocked by the news of the accident at the Astún station, I have spoken with the president of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, to offer him all the support of the Government,” says Sánchez in a message on the social network X, in which he also expresses “ “All his affection for the wounded and their families.”
The Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, has also reported that he is in contact with the Government delegate in Aragon, Fernando Beltrán Blazquez, who is currently heading to the site of the chairlift accident in Huesca. “Already coordinating attention and support in emergencies from the Government Delegation,” he detailed.
