5 Skiers Hospitalized After Lift Chair Collision at Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe

Five skiers were taken to the hospital after a lift chair collision at the Heavenly Ski Resort on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

The incident occurred on Monday, Dec. 23 around 10 a.m. local time leaving multiple skiers injured, according to ABC7.

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District responded to the incident with two fire engines and three rescue ambulances, per ABC7 and CNN.

The fire department said five individuals were hospitalized in Reno, Nev. as a result of the incident, per ABC7. Three of them suffered injuries directly related to the fall, which is about 30 feet according to the outlet.

PEOPLE reached out to Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and Heavenly Ski Resort for additional information but did not immediately hear back.

Skier and witness Travis Faanes told CNN that "the chair slid backwards ... into the chair behind it," adding that, "the people in the front chair fell off."

Faanes also said that the skiers were "lucky" the incident occurred "at the very beginning of the lift."

Another witness, Brett Federico, told the outlet that he saw four sleds take the people down the mountain after the incident, one of whom was receiving oxygen.

One of the injured people needed emergency surgery to repair a shoulder injury while another was having trouble breathing, per ABC7.

Related: 1 Dead, 1 Injured in Avalanche at California Ski Resort: 'This Is a Very Sad Day'

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Officials from the fire department described two of the injured as a 60-year-old man and a 71-year-old man on an emergency call that ABC7 obtained through Broadcastify. The 60-year-old male was reportedly wearing a helmet during the fall but lost consciousness.

In a statement from the resort obtained by CBS, a spokesperson confirmed that the incident occurred on the Comet Express chairlift.

Related: 12 People Dead from Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 'Accident' at Ski Resort: Reports

The resort said that the accident is under investigation and the safety of their guests is their "top priority."

In January, a snowboarder spent 15 hours stuck overnight in a ski gondola at the same resort after becoming too tired to snowboard down the mountain. She claimed the lift stopped, leaving her stranded in midair.

A representative from the South Lake Tahoe Fire and Rescue said at the time that the incident was the first time the organization had responded to an accident of that nature in more than 20 years.

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