The shots by Blick reader Andreas G. * are spectacular: the cable car travels through the middle of the fir trees, branches drag along the windows. Through the window you can see how at an angle under the cabin large branches are broken off by the load and pushed away.
On Wednesday afternoon, the machinist loaded too much load under the cabin of the cable car from Laax GR to the Crap Sogn Gion. The cabin then hung so low that the load first cut off the pine crowns and then plowed the ground at an elevated point. In addition to being in shock, a girl slightly injured her finger. The Swiss Security Investigation Board (Sust) is investigating the incident.
Why not stop
“It quickly became clear that we were hanging way too far down,” says the passenger who took the picture to Blick. He can’t understand why the gondola driver didn’t stop the journey here. He says: “The collision with the branches took place several hundred meters before the grounding.”
When the load finally dragged on the floor under the cab, the driver pulled the emergency brake. Passenger Andreas G. has further questions about the subsequent backward maneuver: «Apparently someone from the railways was checking the cargo from below. But we didn’t see him. Then we went backwards. The cargo dragged a long way across the ground. How could you be sure that there was no damage to the attachment? “
Drive over busy places
He finds the question relevant because on its way back down to the valley, the cabin and its cargo drove over a busy ski slope, over the valley station of another cable car and over an open restaurant. According to his estimates, the load weighed several tons. “If one of the boxes had thundered down there, there could have been deaths,” he is convinced.
Nobody has answered these questions until now. He later learned from Blick that there was an information event for those affected the next day. He says: “When I got out, nobody asked for my details.”
Continuation of the journey after the incident
The employee of the mountain railway had a different message: «We hang up the load, then we go straight up again. If you want to go along, you should wait by the cabin. ” That too was angry with Andreas G.: “Why do you keep going straight on after such an incident? It has to be examined. “
Blick passed the questions on to the management of the mountain railways. Markus Wolf (48), CEO of the Weisse Arena, answers the questions personally. He says: “Unfortunately, we didn’t actually catch all of the passengers, as some of them left the gondola directly. We were able to locate some of them using your ticket, but unfortunately not others. “
Investigation is ongoing
Why the cabin operator did not stop after touching the branches, he cannot yet say. Wolf writes: “Part of the investigation is why the cabin operator did not react when crossing the trees.”
But the return trip was controlled. He says: “It goes without saying that the same difficulties arise on the return journey as on the outward journey. An employee checked and secured the return journey in the lower area, i.e. where slopes, restaurants and trees were crossed, from the ground. »
Nothing spoke against continuing the journey after the incident. «After the arrival of the gondola, a check was carried out for any damage and, due to the fact that no damage was recorded, the next trip was made without underload. With regard to underload transports planned later (without passengers), further checks were carried out after this trip.