Wednesday’s accident claimed the life of a 61-year-old woman in the Swiss resort of Engelberg.
Keystone / Ti-Press / Samuel Golay
The chair of the board of the Titlis-Bergbahnen lift company said staff decided on Wednesday to suspend operations due to strong winds when the fatal accident occurred. They parked the gondolas, he told the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. The facility in Engelberg remained out of service on Thursday.
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The accident occurred during safety procedures, said Hans Wicki, chair of the board of Titlis-Bergbahnen and president of the Swiss cable car association Seilbahnen Schweiz. The staff had acted in accordance with their training.
The incident was a serious blow to the company and the entire industry, as safety is given the highest priority, added Wicki, who is also a federal senator representing canton Nidwalden.
On Wednesday, a 61-year-old woman who lived in the region lost her life when a gondola crashed. The gondola of the Titlis Xpress had become detached in the Schlächtismatt area while travelling from Trübsee to Engelberg-Stand and plummeted.
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The gondolas between the Trübsee and Engelberg-Stand stations remained out of service on Thursday. An aerial cableway was deployed as a replacement to ensure the transport of guests, Titlis Bergbahnen confirmed on Thursday in response to an enquiry. A spokesperson for the cable car company was unable to say how long the restrictions would last.
‘Very strict’ safety regulations
The facility had been commissioned in 2015 and overhauled last September. Cable car expert Reto Canale told the Keystone-SDA news agency that safety regulations in Switzerland are “very strict”. Compared with neighbouring countries, Switzerland has “nothing to hide” when it comes to cable car safety, he said.
Canale added that cable car accidents are extremely rare. This also explains the extensive media coverage and the public’s keen interest in the accident.
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According to the expert, both technical and human error could be the cause of the cable car accident. Possible causes include material defects or faulty components, but also failure to follow instructions or misjudging wind conditions. However, everything is still open at this stage, said the independent cable car consultant.
The gondola that plunged in Engelberg was manufactured by market leader Garaventa, based in the town of Rotkreuz, central Switzerland. Whether other cable car operators now need to take action depends on the findings of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board, the expert said.
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“If the investigations reveal human or technical failure, the other operators must of course also check whether there is a need for action on their part,” said Canale.
The Nidwalden public prosecutor’s office and the safety investigation board are now looking into the cause of the accident.
Translated from German with AI/gw
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