56 skiers stuck on chair lift for over an hour in French Alps
More than a dozen were rescued by helicopter before lift began working
Resorts in the Hautes-Alpes have seen several ski-lift related events in recent years. Photo shows Orcières-Merlette where Wednesday’s incident took place
Alastair Wallace/Shutterstock
A ski-lift at a resort in the Hautes-Alpes faced technical issues, leaving 56 skiers stuck for more than an hour and some winched to safety by rescue helicopters.
The lift, which serves several high-altitude pistes at the Orcières-Merlette resort, malfunctioned on Wednesday (January 14) while carrying several groups up the mountain, some significantly far from the ground.
Resort workers alerted the local mountain rescue unit in Briançon, who sent two rescue teams to evacuate skiers.
Of the 56 stranded skiers, 13 were rescued from their seats, with officers winched down to collect them and bring them back up to a helicopter.
The operation was made slightly more difficult as those on the lift were wearing skis.
The lift was repaired after some 75 minutes, with the remaining passengers then able to reach the slopes and not needing rescuing.
Local media reported that none of the passengers suffered any injuries.
A similar incident at the Superdévoluy resort (also in Hautes-Alpes) in 2024 saw more than 200 skiers rescued via helicopter from a malfunctioning ski lift. In 2025, a child was seriously injured after falling from a ski-lift in Risoul, another Hautes-Alpes station.
