An Australian woman died after her backpack got caught on a ski lift on a Japanese mountain, which left her suspended in midair after she attempted to disembark, police said Monday.
The 22-year-old woman was preparing to get off the lift on Friday morning when the incident took place at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Hakuba Valley, a popular ski destination in Nagano Prefecture.
A loose buckle from her backpack got caught in the lift chair, according to lift operator Tsugaike Gondola Lift.
The woman, who had the rucksack¡¯s chest strap fastened, was then dragged by the lift and became suspended in midair, a spokesman for Nagano regional police said.
¡°Because the chest strap was fastened, the backpack could not be removed from the (woman¡¯s) body, and the guest was dragged along with the backpack after disembarking from the lift,¡± Tsugaike Gondola Lift¡¯s president, Tsuneo Kubo, said in a statement.
¡°An attendant pressed the stop button to halt the lift. After rescue efforts, the guest was transported by ambulance to hospital,¡± he said.
The woman died in hospital on Sunday, the police spokesperson said.
Kubo said his company is cooperating with investigators and pledged to improve its safety.
¡°We will handle matters with the utmost sincerity for our deceased guest and her bereaved family members,¡± he said.
¡°We take this situation seriously and will strive to operate the ski resort with the utmost safety measures to ensure our guests can enjoy it with peace of mind,¡± it said.
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