A TOURIST has died on a ski lift after the chair suddenly slid 230ft backwards and collided with the seat behind – trapping his wife.
The 34-year-old man from Germany fell from the lift and was pronounced dead at the scene.
His wife, 30, was left stranded in the broken chair for hours after witnessing the horror incident unfold.
The fatal accident happened at the Savin Kuk resort, near the mountain town of Žabljak, in Montenegro.
Local officials said a double chair came loose and slid along the cable before it smashed into the chair behind, trapping victims for hours.
Emergency services were called to the scene and the lift was immediately closed off as investigations began.
At least three other tourists were stuck in their chairs for several hours before rescue teams managed to prise them from the machinery safely.
The victim’s wife sustained injuries from the crash.
An official cause has not yet been identified, with authorities saying a full technical examination will be carried out.
Speaking to Montenegrin television the towns mayor, Radoš Žugić, said the incident was being treated with the utmost seriousness.
He stressed the importance of visitor safety in a region heavily dependant on tourism.
“We insist on a comprehensive and transparent investigation to determine those responsible”, he said.
Despite the fatality the ski lift was back in operation the following day, according to Serbian news outlet Blic.
The tragedy follows of a string of terrifying chairlift incidents.
In January two young women were left in intensive care and at least 30 others were seriously injured when a ski lift pulley broke at a Spanish ski resort in January.
The incident at the Astún ski resort in Huesca left around 80 skiers and snowboarders dangling from the chairs of the lift as emergency services raced to assist those caught in the tragedy.
The Civil Guard confirmed that the accident occurred when a chairlift line “fell off” due to a problem with the cable which lost tension.
This sent the chairlift plunging from a height of 15 metres.
Four helicopters were dispatched to the site, along with firefighters and a whopping 56 ambulances.
In a separate incident in September, three people were killed, and nine were injured after a chairlift cable snapped on Mount Elbrus, Russia’s highest peak.
At the time of that accident, 37 passengers were riding the cableway in the North Caucasus region.