WASHINGTON — A ski lift failure at Timberline Resort Saturday morning left 100 people stranded and two others injured. A mechanical failure around 9 a.m. on the “Thunderstruck” triple chairlift caused the cables to drop, Timberline officials said in a statement. The resort was subsequently shut down. Officials say nine people were evaluated. Two people with non-life threatening injuries were taken to a local hospital.
The Thunderstruck triple lift is not operating. We do not have all details at this time and our immediate focus is on our skiers.
— Timberline WV (@tline) February 20, 2016
The ski patrol was on the scene and began a lift evacuation. It took approximately two hours to remove the rest of the skiers in the lift chairs off the lift, West Virginia Metro News reports. WTOP listener Gary Madison from McLean, Virginia says he and two boy scouts from Woodbridge were rescued from the lift after being stuck for about 90 minutes. WTOP Twitter follower Philip Garrett tweeted that he and his ski team fell from the lift.
@WTOP #myself and whole Wintergreen ski team fell from lift. Super lucky — Philip Garrett (@GarrettPhilip) February 20, 2016
It’s was not immediately known what caused the lift to malfunction. The Associated Press contributed to this report.