Boy Dangling From Ski Lift Caught by Quick-Thinking Bystanders, Video Shows
— -- An 11-year-old boy who found himself precariously dangling from a chairlift at a ski resort in British Columbia, Canada, was saved by some quick-thinking bystanders, and the rescue was caught on video.
"The boy slipped after leaning on the edge of the chair to pick up a ski pole he had dropped while loading," Whistler Blackcomb ski resort officials told ABC News in a statement today.
Three people sitting on the chair the boy had been on were struggling to hold onto him by his clothes when thankfully, quick-thinking staff and bystanders came to his rescue, according to tourist Christopher Sakai, who got cell phone video of the incident, which occurred on Monday afternoon.
"It was scary," Sakai, 30, told ABC News today. "The people on the chair were holding onto his clothes, but they didn’t have a good hold on him."
A ski lift attendant for the Peak Express Chairlift then "immediately stopped the lift" and "grabbed a piece of equipment called a 'fireman's net,'" ski resort officials said.
The attendant, along with several other guests, set up the fireman's net to catch the boy, who then "dropped approximately 20 feet into the net and sustained no injuries," the ski resort said.
"The 'fireman’s net rescue' is an emergency procedure that every lift operator at Whistler Blackcomb is trained in and has practiced in a controlled environment," the ski resort added. "The chair’s safety bar was not yet lowered at the time the accident occurred."
"Safety is of paramount concern at Whistler Blackcomb," the ski resort said, noting there are numerous safety initiatives in place.
Sakai, who was visiting the resort from southern California, added that the 11-year-old boy "looked calm" and "was smiling" immediately after the rescue.
