search
February 19, 2011

Chairlift malfunction triggers lift evacuation at Sunday River

By Emma Bouthillette ebouthillette@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

NEWRY—Nearly 160 skiers and riders were evacuated from a lift at Sunday River today after a mechanical malfunction on the South Ridge Express chairlift.

At 11:15 a.m., a built-in safety mechanism was triggered that stopped the high-speed detachable quad chairlift, according to Darcy Morse, director of communications at the resort.  Mechanics quickly identified that a blown bearing in the system that moves the chairs through the bottom terminal had triggered the emergency stop.

Ski patrol started evacuating the lift at 11:30 a.m. and all guests were on the ground within an hour. There were no injuries as a result of this incident.

Lift mechanics were able to repair the blown bearing and South Ridge Express chairlift has been reopen to the public.

According to a press release from Morse, the chair lift receives routine daily inspections as well as weekly, monthly and yearly maintenance and testing. It is annually inspected by the State of Board of Elevator and Tramway Safety.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form

Send Question/Comment to the Publisher




Further Discussion

Here at PressHerald.com we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion. To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use.

Questions about the article? Add them below and we’ll try to answer them or do a follow-up post as soon as we can. Technical problems? Email them to us with an exact description of the problem. Make sure to include:
  • Type of computer or mobile device your are using
  • Exact operating system and browser you are viewing the site on (TIP: You can easily determine your operating system here.)