Skier dangling from chairlift at NY resort caught by rescuers down below
CANANDAIGUA, New York (WABC) -- A heart-stopping video shows rescuers catch a skier who was slipping off of a chairlift at a ski resort in upstate New York Sunday.
Witnesses said the 14-year-old girl dangled by her jacket for nearly two minutes at the Bristol Mountain Ski Resort in Canandaigua, about 35 miles south of Rochester.
Fortunately, the resort's ski patrol responded quickly and helped break her fall using a safety tarp stretched out below.
The girl's sister told "Good Morning America" that she had escaped from the incident unharmed.
"She was OK. She wasn't injured. She was able to stand up and walk away," said Noah Wilson, a witness. "There was a ton of relief. Everyone was clapping and cheering."
Daniel Fuller, Bristol Mountain's general manager, said the resort plans to conduct an internal investigation into the incident.
"I don't know how she got into that particular situation yet," Fuller said.
The 14-year-old's mother, however, told "GMA" that the ski resort has not yet contacted the family, leaving her concerned about the mountain's safety protocols.
Ski lift accidents are rare. According to the National Ski Areas Association, a person is five times more likely to die in an elevator and eight times more likely to die in a car than on a chairlift.
Still, rare does not mean never. In 2019, 17-year-old Connor Golembiewski died after a 20-foot fall off of a lift at a ski resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.
In an incident similar to this week's in 2018, a 5-year-old girl dangling from a chairlift was rescued after falling safely onto a tarp at Bear Mountain Ski Resort in Southern California.
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