Report on ropeway accident at SkiStars ski resort in Hemsedal on 23 January 2024
ROP report 2024/02
On 23 January 2024, two children, aged four and six, fell out of the Lodge Express chairlift at SkiStar’s ski resort in Hemsedal. The children were attending a ski school organised by SkiStar Hemsedal. The children did not manage to get into the seat properly, so the ski instructor tried to hold them up and was therefore unable to lower the safety bar. At some point, it was not possible for the instructor to hold onto the children anymore and they fell, one shortly after the other, from a height of about 10 metres.
In the investigation, the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) has focused on young children’s use of chairlifts, especially in a ski school situation. The investigation has also looked at the interaction between ski instructors and lift operators, roles and responsibilities, and safety management.
As part of the NSIA’s safety investigation, the chairlift in question has been inspected and relevant personnel and witnesses have been interviewed. The average height and age of the children have been assessed against their ability to use a chairlift and the need for assistance, both individually and when in a group. The investigation has also focused on the company’s safety management system, risk assessments, instructions and applicable requirements and standards.
The NSIA is of the opinion that several factors contributed to the accident:
• The ski instructor had two young children on each side in the chairlift and was unable to help all of the children to get up properly into the seats.
•SkiStar Hemsedal had not devoted sufficient attention to the necessity of immediately sliding down from the seat if you are unable to properly board the chairlift.
•The lift personnel did not devote any special attention to the ski school with the 4 to 6-year-olds upon boarding, and there was no communication between the instructor and the lift operator confirming that the safety bar was lowered.
•The lift operators did not notice that the children had not managed to board the chairlift properly and that the safety bar had not been lowered. The windshield on the chair may have contributed to muffling the cries for help, and the location of the lift station building and lift operator position, may have meant that their overview was poorer compared to other lifts.
•Young children on a chairlift, regardless of whether this concerns a ski school or other passengers, is not mentioned in SkiStar Hemsedal’s risk assessment for the lift in question, and consequently the risk was not specifically addressed through the company’s instructions and procedures for the ski school and lift operator.
This safety investigation has highlighted several risk factors associated with young children’s use of chairlifts, and in this case a group of young children. The NSIA therefore recommends that SkiStar Hemsedal include these conditions in its safety management system.
The difference between adults and children in a chairlift. Illustration: NSIA
The place the children fell down. Photo: NSIA
Published 12.12.2024
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation ROPEWAY No 2024/02T
On 23 January 2024, two young children fell out of the Lodge Express chairlift at a ski resort owned by the Hemsedal Skisenter branch of SkiStar Norge AS. The children were attending a ski school with eight children and a ski instructor. The two children had not managed to board the chairlift properly, and the ski instructor tried to hold onto them. The ski instructor eventually lost their grip, and the children fell from a height of about 10 metres. The ski resort has not sufficiently risk assessed the activity of transporting children under 140 cm in a chairlift.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Railway Authority ensure that the Hemsedal Skisenter branch of SkiStar Norge AS addresses the risks associated with transporting young children and groups of young children in chairlifts, as part of its safety management system.
Facts
| Location | SkiStar Norge AS, avd. Hemsedal Skisenter |
| Occurrence date | 23.01.2024 |
| Type of occurrence | Cable car accident |
| Cable car type | Chairlift |