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Dozens injured, trapped in a ski lift incident in the north of Spain

Dozens of people were injured at the Astun ski resort
Dozens of people were injured at the Astun ski resort

A ski lift has collapsed at a resort in the Spanish region of Aragon, injuring dozens of people, nine of them very seriously and eight seriously, the regional government has said.

Around 80 people remain trapped, hanging in the chairlift at the ski resort of Astun, in the province of Huesca, according to state TV channel TVE.

"It's like a cable has come off, the chairs have bounced and people have been thrown off," a witness told TVE.

The cause of the cable failure remains unknown.

The ski resort's management declined to comment and was not immediately able to say if foreigners were among the injured.

Several helicopters were working in the area to rescue the skiers who were still trapped on the chairlift and transfer the injured to nearby hospitals.

The Astun ski resort, mainly popular among Spanish skiers is located close to the Spanish border with France, in the Pyrenees mountain range.