Blackcomb Mountain’s Excalibur Gondola Tower Collapses - Whistler, BC - At approximately 2:30pm PST on Tuesday, December 16, a structural failure on tower 4 on Blackcomb Mountain’s Excalibur Gondola caused the gondola to cease operation. No gondola cabins came off the line. There were several injuries that appear to be minor. Injured guests were treated at the Whistler Medical Clinic. The cause of the incident is unknown at this time and will be investigated, however the immediate priority has been to secure the tower and evacuate guests.
There is an upper and lower section to the Excalibur Gondola. The failed tower 4 on the lower section was secured by a crane and Whistler Blackcomb Ski Patrol and the Whistler Fire Department immediately implemented an emergency lift evacuation procedure. The upper section of the gondola, independent of the lower section, was unaffected by the incident and was cleared immediately of guests by normal procedure.

The Excalibur Gondola evacuation was completed at 5:51 pm this evening. Fifty-three guests were safely evacuated from the lower line of the Excalibur Gondola after a structural failure on tower 4 caused the gondola to cease operation.

We are very thankful that no-one was seriously injured in this incident. A full investigation by Whistler Blackcomb and the BC Safety Authority is currently underway to determine the cause of the failure.
 
The Excalibur Gondola was built in 1994 and undergoes an extensive safety check every year by the BC Safety Authority. The last check took place within the past six months. Each gondola cabin holds eight people. The gondola section where the incident took place is approximate 30 feet above the ground.

Check out more pics at CTV Website!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Resorts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.