An investigation was opened by the Albertville public prosecutor's office this Tuesday, November 19, just a few hours after the accident on the Cime Caron cable car, located in the Val Thorens area (Savoie), which left eight people injured, including two seriously.
François Ravier, the prefect of Savoie, gave some information this Tuesday noon during a press conference.
What happened?
The accident took place this Tuesday, around 7:45 a.m., in very difficult weather conditions. The Cime Caron cable car carried 17 people, the driver and 16 workers who were to reach a construction site at the summit of the same name.
But when it reached the top, for a reason still unknown, the skip hit the arrival station, located at an altitude of nearly 3,200 m, explained the prefect during this press conference.
Among the 17 people in the cable car, two were seriously injured. However, their vital prognosis is not compromised. Six people were slightly injured and one person was “very shocked”.
How did the relief operations take place?
Significant emergency resources were quickly deployed to care for the victims at “nearly 3,200 m altitude, in poor weather conditions,” explained François Ravier.
In total, 120 people were involved in the operations, “including firefighters from the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS) of Savoie who provided emergency command, the CRS Alpes, the gendarmerie platoon of high mountain (PGHM), the Samu and the slopes service,” detailed François Ravier, adding that the mayors of the municipalities of Belleville and Orelle were present on site.
To coordinate emergency services, a crisis unit and a numerous victims plan (NOVI) were launched by the Savoie prefecture.
The injured were first “returned to the bottom of the Orelle station”, via the Orelle-Caron gondola, explained the prefect. Once down, the two seriously injured people were evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Grenoble (Isère) and Chambéry (Savoie). The six slightly injured people were transported by “road means” to the hospitals of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Albertville and Chambéry.
The very shocked person was also taken care of. A medico-psychological emergency unit was set up in the Orelle multipurpose room “to be able to provide what is needed to shocked people”, added François Ravier.
Do we know the causes of the accident?
At this stage, it is still too early to determine the causes of the accident. An investigation was opened by the public prosecutor of Albertville, Anne Gaches, said the prefect. The land transport accident investigation office (BEA-TT) will go to the site on Wednesday, November 20 in the morning, “to analyze the causes of the accident,” he announced.
Asked about a possible human error, the prefect of Savoie indicated that as the case was now legal, he would “refrain from commenting on the question”. “We will wait for the BEA to come,” he added. At the time of the accident, the weather conditions were difficult, said François Ravier. They only improved between 10 and 11 a.m., he added.
Is the cable car out of order?
This accident occurs a few days before the pre-opening of Val Thorens. The resort welcomes its first tourists the next two weekends – November 23 and 24 and November 30 and December 1 – before a final opening on December 7.
Although the investigation has only just begun, it seems “obvious”, according to the prefect, that “the cable car will not operate” this weekend during the pre-opening of the station.
The legendary Cime Caron cable car allows skiers and hikers to reach the summit of the same name, located at an altitude of 3,195 m, and to reach the Orelle area. It can accommodate up to 150 people.
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