One person has died and another is in critical condition following a collision between a gondola cabin and construction equipment at Tremblant, an Alterra-operated resort near Montreal. The gondola car struck a drilling rig part way up the mountain, causing two adult riders to fall to the ground at approximately 11:30 this morning. The cabin remained attached to the haul rope. Both people were transported to a hospital where one later died. Other riders on the lift were evacuated with no further injuries.
The incident occurred part way up the Panoramic Gondola, one of three gondola systems at Tremblant. The lift involved was built by Doppelmayr in 1998 with cabins supplied by Gangloff. A photo later emerged showing half of a cabin completely sheared off where there would normally be a bench seat.
“Due to an incident on the Gondola today, July 16, we regret to inform you that we are canceling the remainder of the Tremblant Blues Festival and closing our activities for the day out of respect for those involved,” the ski resort wrote in an afternoon statement. “We thank you for your understanding.”
The Quebec Ski Areas Association also issued a statement: “We are saddened by the accident. Our hearts go out to the families and the Mont Tremblant team. An investigation is in progress and we offer our collaboration to the authorities,” the association wrote.
By evening, Tremblant issued a statement clarifying that the construction equipment was operated by a third party and offered condolences to those involved, who were visiting from outside the region.
On Monday, Forage M2P Inc. said one of its drilling rigs operating on behalf of Tremblant on an approved route struck both the gondola cabin with two riders who fell and another empty gondola. A 30 year old operator was repositioning the drill at the time of the incident and he was also hospitalized.
Lift Blog 
What a shame. I found this referenced on one of the news sites:
“The gondola did not collapse, but the force of impact knocked the two people out of the gondola, and they fell several meters to the ground”
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Very strange… I wish all my condolences to the family and friends of the dead person.
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was it a crane or something else they ran into?
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The article says it was a drill rig.
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All the webcams of the mountain are off.
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