23 Injured in Gondola Accident at Alpe d’Huez, France

A cable car carrying approximately 50 people was struck by the articulated arm of a construction crane Wednesday morning, August 26, at Alpe d’Huez, France. The construction crane struck a cabin of the Pic Blanc cable car at Alpe d’Huez Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m., injuring 23 people, including three who suffered serious injuries. The accident occurred shortly after the cabin left the base station at approximately 2,700 meters (8,858 feet). About 50 people were inside the cabin when it was struck by arm of a construction crane truck.

• Related: The 10 Snowiest Resorts in Europe

According to the Isère prefecture, three people were treated as being in “absolute emergency,” while another 13 were classified as being in “relative emergency.” Most of the injured were treated at the Huez medical center, while five people were transported to Grenoble Alpes University Hospital for further evaluation. Among those transferred was a pregnant woman who was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The collision caused the gondola cabin to tilt, sending passengers sliding inside. “They thought they were going to die,” Huez Mayor Jean-Yves Noyrey told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Noyrey said the cable cars are designed to stabilize after sudden braking, but the impact with the crane caused the cabin to tilt. The crane operator then reportedly backed the vehicle up, allowing the gondola cabin to return to its normal position. “There are mainly shocked people, concussions and hospitalized people are a priori all out,” Noyrey said Wednesday evening.

The police are investigating exactly how the collision occurred. According to the mayor, one possibility being examined is that the crane operator did not realize a cable car was passing overhead. The Grenoble prosecutor’s office opened an investigation following the accident, with gendarmes working to establish the precise circumstances and determine how the crane arm came into contact with the cable car.

The unusual accident prompted a significant emergency response in the high-altitude resort. Approximately 30 firefighters and seven rescuers from CRS Alpes responded to the scene. A medical-psychological emergency unit was also established at the municipality’s sports palace to assist passengers shaken by the incident.

Despite the dramatic collision and the large number of people aboard the cabin, authorities said the majority of injuries were not life-threatening.

The Pic Blanc is a brand new cable car installed by Poma in 2025. The 70-person aerial tramway replaced the former Pic Blanc 3 lift, which had operated since 1980. The 2,130-meter (6,988-foot) line climbs 695 meters (2,280 feet) at speeds of up to 12 meters per second (27 mph), completing the journey in roughly 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The new lift’s large cabins and rapid transit were designed to modernize access to Pic Blanc.

The accident comes during the summer season at Alpe d’Huez, when the Pic Blanc area is popular with hikers, sightseers and mountain bikers. The Pic Blanc cable car provides access to the high alpine terrain above the resort and reaches an elevation of approximately 3,330 meters (10,925 feet) at its upper station.