A 34-year-old man from Germany died after falling roughly 230 feet from a chairlift at a ski resort in northern Montenegro over the weekend, according to multiple reports. His wife, who was with him at the time, was seriously injured.
The incident happened Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Savin Kuk ski resort near Žabljak in the Durmitor Mountains, German newspaper Die Frankfurter Rundschau and Montenegrin outlets Vijesti and Pobjeda reported. Two double chairlifts reportedly collided, and the impact caused the tourist to fall to his death, the reports said.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(492x769:494x771):format(webp)/Ski-Lift-Savin-Kuk-ski-resort-12225-02-70c7c2322b144ebba3ce7a636d2eb5a2.jpg)
Pobjeda reported that one cable car basket slipped and struck the basket in front of it. The man’s wife, a 30-year-old German woman who was riding in the same basket, became trapped after the collision. She was later taken to a hospital and treated for a femur fracture and a head injury, according to the outlet.
Following the crash, authorities ordered the lift shut down as an initial investigation began, the reports said. At least three other tourists remained stranded on the lift for hours, Pobjeda reported, before rescue teams evacuated everyone despite hazardous weather conditions.
Officials have not publicly identified the victims, and the cause of the crash has not been confirmed.
“We insist on a comprehensive and transparent investigation to determine who is responsible,” said Zugic, according to Die Frankfurter Rundschau.
