Chairlift detaches for second time at Washington ski area - 2 hurt

(Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

CHEWELAH, Wash.) Two people were injured when the chair they were riding in detached from the cable on an older chairlift at a ski resort in Washington State - apparently the second time in recent years that a chair detached at the resort.

The detachment occurred at about t 11 a.m. on Dec. 5 on the Bonanza chairlift at the 49 Degrees North ski area near Chewelah, Wash., about 50 miles from the nearby city of Spokane, according to the Bellingham Herald.

The weekend detachment wasn't the first time the chair has dropped skiers. A couple that frequents the ski area told KREM in January that they had been stuck on the lift twice, and had once witnessed a loaded chair fall to the ground.

The chairlift dates to 1972, according to the Herald report.

Responders from the resort's ski patrol arrived at the scene shortly after the detachment and transported the two injured people to the resort's medical facility, where they were found to have minor injuries, according to the Herald.

An industry blog, Liftblog.com, noted after the accident that the Bonanza chairlift has been the subject of speculation for some time, including over whether the resort will replace it due to its age and length - the lift is roughly 6,000 feet long.

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