“It’s the first time that such an accident has happened in the resort”, confided Fabrice Boutet, director of the SATA which manages the ski lifts of Les Deux Alpes, to France Blue Isere. On Saturday afternoon, around 4:30 p.m., a 29-year-old man died after falling 40m from the gondola he was riding in with a friend to descend from the glacier. “An investigation is open and an expertise awaited”, indicated Eric Vaillant, public prosecutor of Grenoble. 20 minutes make the point.
What happened ?
Saturday afternoon, between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m., two skiers aged 29 and 23, living in Isère, descended from the glacier to reach the center of the resort of Les Deux Alpes, aboard a Jandri Express gondola. 1, at an altitude of 2,600 m, just before closing. According to France Bleu Isère, they were alone in this cabin which can accommodate up to twenty passengers.
“Alcoholic, they heckled in the gondola and the oldest crossed the plexiglass wall,” added the Grenoble prosecutor’s office, specifying that “the scene had been filmed by his friend with his phone”. According to information from the local radio, the victim was 1.90 m tall, weighed more than 100 kg and would have gained momentum to project himself against the opposite window which would then have exploded under his weight.
The 29-year-old man fell back on the track, 40 m lower, and impaled himself on a beacon. Alerted, the emergency services could only note his death on the spot.
Where is the investigation?
“An expertise of the cabin is scheduled. The prosecution seized the investigation of the gendarmes of the La Mure company, ”announced Eric Vaillant, public prosecutor of Grenoble, Sunday morning.
According to Fabrice Boutet, the director of Sata managing the Deux Alpes area, interviewed by France Bleu Isère, “the gondola was in perfect condition”. “She had passed all the security tests,” he added. Moreover, the door of the cabin did not open under the shock, it is well the pane which yielded. It’s awful. The local media specifies that toxicological analyzes, concerning alcohol and drugs, are in progress.
Sata Group indicated on Saturday evening that a psychological support unit has been set up.