The case in summary: This winter, three children fell from Skistar’s alpine destinations in Trysil and Hemsedal, which has led to criticism of the company for a lack of safety for small children in chairlifts. The National Accident Investigation Board has pointed to several factors that contributed to the accidents, including the height of the chair compared to the height of the children, lack of observation by lift drivers and lack of overview of dangers for children in chairlifts from the alpine company. The Accident Investigation Board believes that Skistar has not assessed the risk of transporting children under 140 centimeters in chairlifts, and recommends improving the safety management relating to children in chairlifts. Skistar Trysil and Skistar Hemsedal have both stated that they have initiated various measures following the accidents. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On 6 January this year, a six-year-old girl fell ten meters from a chair lift at Skistar Trysil after she did not get all the way up into the seat during boarding. Later that month, two children aged four and six fell out of the chairlift at the same alpine company’s facility in Hemsedal. Here the children fell about ten meters down. – It is serious when small children fall from a relatively great height, and it is only coincidence that the fall locations in these accidents were favorable, says department director Ida Hogganvik Grøndahl in the National Accident Investigation Board. They have now come up with a report after the accidents. The destination managers at both Skistar Trysil and Skistar Hemsedal inform news that immediately after the accidents they have initiated various measures. See their explanations further down in the case. Trysil: Girl fell 14 meters In Trysil, a mother and her two children were to take the Knetta ski lift. The six-year-old fell from a height of approximately 14 metres, suffered compression injuries to his back and a bruise on his chin, according to the report. Photo: Norwegian Accident Investigation Board The six-year-old was hanging by his elbows on the seat, and was unable to sit down properly. The National Accident Investigation Board has pointed to several factors that contributed to the accident, including: The height of the chair compared to the girl’s height The lift driver did not observe that the child did not get all the way up in the chair lift and that the safety buoy was not lowered The Alpine company did not have a good enough overview of dangers for children in chair lifts Destination manager Gudrun Sandaker Lohne at Skistar Trysil says that they have now set up markers at the entrance for 140 centimetres. This will make it easier for the staff to pay attention to young children. Gudrun Sandaker Lohne says that the alpine facility follows the industry standard, and that they will now consider taking input and recommendations on to the industry organisation. – Because we follow the same guidelines at all destinations in Norway. Photo: Torunn Myhre / Torunn Myhre Hemsedal: Two children fell ten meters In Hemsedal, two children aged four and six fell out of the Lodge Express chair lift. The accident happened on 23 January, and the children were participants in a ski school run by Skistar Hemsedal. The incident happened when those children did not get on the seat properly. The ski instructor tried to hold the children up and was thus unable to take down the safety bar. At one point, it was not possible to hold the children up any longer and they fell from a height of approximately ten meters at short intervals. In Hemsedal, two children, aged four and six, fell out of the chairlift, and about ten meters down. Photo: The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board has pointed to several factors that contributed to the accident, including: That the ski instructor had two small children on either side, and did not have the opportunity to provide sufficient help There was a lack of communication between the ski school instructor and the lift driver Not good enough overview of dangers for children in chairlifts The lift operators did not observe that the children did not get all the way up in the chairlift and that the safety bar was not taken down Andreas Smith-Erichsen, destination manager SkiStar Hemsedal, tells news that they received the report from the Accident Investigation Board today, and read it thoroughly and learned from it. Photo: Skistar Andreas Smith-Erichsen in Skistar Hemsedal tells news that they have done several things in advance after the incident last winter: – We have made the following changes: Went through the written routines, implemented these changes, improved training and carried out risk assessments with children in chairlifts in general, as well as coordination between chairlifts and ski schools in particular. There are differences between adults and small children in chairlifts, the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board points out, and provides this illustration in both reports. Photo: Norwegian Accident Investigation Board Norwegian Accident Investigation Board: Important lessons learned Neither Skistar Trysil nor Hemsedal have assessed the risk of transporting children under 140 centimeters in chairlifts well enough, the Norwegian Accident Investigation Investigation Board believes. Ida Hogganvik Grøndahl of the National Accident Investigation Board says the accidents provide important lessons for guests in alpine resorts. – That children under 140 centimetres, i.e. up to ten years of age, may need help to get up in a chair lift. Ida Hogganvik Grøndahl is department director at the National Accident Investigation Board. Photo: Anne kari Løberg Grøndhal points out that the adult person in the chair lift must be aware of their own limitations, and not bring more children than necessary. Should the accident happen, the advice is to let the child go as soon as possible. – It is designed to be able to drop the child straight after the boarding area, so that the lift is not too high when you end up dropping off. Published 12/12/2024, at 10.47 Updated 12.12.2024, at 13.13
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Girl fell from chairlift – SkiStar Trysil receives criticism for safety – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
