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Stowe Workers Fall from Lift Tower

Stowe, Vermont - September 2, 2009

An emergency rescue in Stowe Wednesday after two employees fell from a ski lift tower.

Officials with the resort say an equipment failure caused the employees to fall about 30 feet. The accident happened around 2:15 p.m. on the Spruce Peak portion of Stowe resort.

Officials with the resort say the two employees-- a male and a female-- were doing routine maintenance on the Sunny Spruce lift. They were on one of the lift towers examining the wheels that pull the line, when the line became detached from the tower and fell to the ground. The two employees were attached to that line so when it fell-- so did they-- a drop of about 30 feet.

The female employee appears to have come out unscathed but she was taken to Copley Hospital to be checked out. The male employee suffered leg injuries and was taken off the mountain by DHART helicopter.

Stowe Mountain Resort spokesman Mike Colbourn says the male employee was conscious and when he found out the helicopter was coming-- he asked for a window seat.

"It won't affect our operations at all. Maintenance on that lift will continue. Immediately there's an investigation, an ongoing investigation in regard to the equipment failure," Colbourn explained.

Colbourn says the employees were following safety precautions at the time of the accident and people are up on the mountain now trying to figure out how that line came loose.

Colbourn says this type of accident is very rare.

Bianca Slota - WCAX News