Fatal plunge by huge cable car

Press, 17 April 1978, Page 6

Fatal plunge by huge cable car

NZPA Squaw Valley, California A tramway accident at the Squaw Valley ski resort in California sent one of two huge cable cars plunging nine metres towards the ground on Saturday, killing at least three persons and injuring as many as 30 others, some seriously. About 60 people were stranded for several hours in another car dangling 290 metres above the ground but were not injured, said the sheriff of Placer County, Captain Max Bennett. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. About 40 people were in the car when it fell, Captain Bennett said. Some apparently were thrown from the car. “We are down to about

eight people (left to be rescued) in the red car and 20 in the green one,” he said. Rescue efforts were continuing. Neither car hit the ground. Captain Bennett said that some persons had suffered head, leg, and back injuries, but he did not know how many were hurt or the extent of their injuries. Mr Bill Boardman, director of Squaw Valley Ski Corporation, said that one car was doing down the mountain when the cable either broke or the car slipped off the cable and fell. Another car on the way up did not fall, but was stranded. Local crews were working to rescue passengers. Search and rescue teams, ski patrols, and fire crews were sent on skis and in snowmobiles to help.