Gondola at Swiss ski resort falls from cable and rolls down mountain, leaving one individual critically injured

A gondola plunged from a cable and rolled down a snow-covered mountainside at a Swiss ski resort on Wednesday, leaving at least one person seriously injured. 

Dramatic footage shows the cabin tumbling down the slope at the Titlis resort after becoming detached, flipping several times as horrified onlookers watched on.

‘It just came off the cable and started rolling,’ a witness said.

One image shows the crumpled carriage lying at the bottom of the slope. Another shows the rescue operation underway, with one person carried away by emergency responders. 

‘They tried to resuscitate them for around 30 minutes,’ the witness added. 

‘There was a strong wind. Then there was a jerk, and the cable moved. Finally, the cabin crashed.’

The incident happened in central Engelberg, a village in the canton of Obwalden, with a rescue helicopter scrambled to the scene amid fears for those inside the carriage. 

Local reports said at least one person was badly hurt, though the full extent of injuries remains unclear. 

A gondola plunged from a cable and rolled down a snow-covered mountainside at a Swiss ski resort on Wednesday, leaving at least one person seriously injured

One image shows the crumpled carriage lying at the bottom of the slope

Another shows the rescue operation underway. One person was carried away by rescuers, according to local media

The crash occurred despite strong winds battering the region, with gusts exceeding 80km/h. 

Some lifts at Engelberg’s Titlis ski area, which has 82km of slopes and rises to 3,238 metres, had remained open at the time. 

Shortly after 11am local time (10.30am GMT), a gondola broke off from the lift above the mid-station, a witness told Swiss media.

Further footage shows a rescue helicopter landing and a person having to be resuscitated after the accident.

It comes after in December six people, including a child, were left injured after a cable car slammed into a station barrier while approaching a mountain summit ‘too quickly’ in Italy.

Around one hundred people were also left stranded following the incident, which took place at the Macugnaga cable car, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola region of Piedmont.

Local media reports claim the cable car arrived at the station, located over 9,000ft in the air, too quickly.

The surrounding ski slopes were closed, and the ski lift was halted following the incident.

Those stranded were evacuated by the National Alpine Rescue Corpsvia two firefighter helicopters.

The six injured were immediately treated by on-site medics, but are set to be transported to a local hospital via air ambulance.