Horrific chairlift accident at Georgia resort sends skiers flying

A ski resort in Georgia was transformed into a scene from a horror movie Friday after a malfunctioning chairlift sent skiers flying.

The incident occurred Friday morning at the Gudauri ski resort in the former Soviet republic. Video captured by onlookers shows the lift sliding backwards, as well as operating at much higher speed than it appears to have been intended to run.

The result is a horrifying experience for passengers who now found themselves going backwards, the lift building speed as it reaches the base of the hill.

Skiers were sent flying by the fast-moving lift as it made the sharp turn at the loading station. Making matters worse, the chairs themselves became disconnected and stuck, creating a mass of twisted steel and injuring skiers at the base of the hill.

Eight people were injured in the incident, according to Reuters.

“Among the injured are Swedish and Ukrainian citizens,” Georgian Health Minister David Sergeenko told U.K.’s Daily Express.

“Only two cases need to be monitored: One of the injured, a Ukrainian citizen, broke his hand during the incident, and has a small head injury, while a Swedish citizen is pregnant and feels pain in her waist.”

There were no fatalities reported in the incident. The cause of the malfunction is still underway.

The Mountain Resort Development Company of the Ministry of Economy of Georgia stated that they had contacted the ski-lift producer.

With files from Reuters