According to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), after an accident involving a gondola and “construction machinery” in the village of Mont-Tremblant, one person is dead and another is still in critical condition.
The two people who were on board the gondola were thrown out of the gondola by the force of the impact and fell several meters down, said SQ spokesman Éric Cadotte. One of them succumbed to his injuries in hospital, the other is still between life and death.
The collision between the two machines would have occurred in the morning halfway between the base and the top of the mountain, explained Mr. Cadotte. The circumstances of the accident remain unclear. “We cannot explain what happened to the machines and the nacelle,” he said.
The SQ set up a command post near the scene of the tragedy to investigate. Responding to a question from Radio-Canada in the evening, the SQ said all hypotheses were currently on the table, including the hypothesis that criminal negligence led to the death. Everything remains to be done, said the policeman.
The people sitting in other gondolas have all been evacuated, stressed the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications of the Tremblant Resort, Annique Aird.
Ms Aird also explained that out of respect for those affected by the tragedy, all activities at the resort have been cancelled, including performances for the Tremblant Blues Festival, which ended on Sunday.
The gondola operation will remain closed until further notice, the resort announced on Facebook.