An 8-year-old girl fell from a chairlift at Maine’s Sugarloaf ski resort, and a helicopter transported her to a hospital, officials said Wednesday.
An attendant stopped the triple chairlift as the girl struggled 20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.5 meters) above the surface, and workers deployed a net to break her fall, said resort spokesperson Ethan Austin.
The girl, who was wearing a ski helmet, was conscious and alert afterward but said her back hurt, Austin said.
The back pain and concerns about a preexisting medical condition led to a LifeFlight helicopter being summoned, Austin said.
The girl was with her mother on the chairlift and it’s unclear why she didn’t get seated properly, Austin said. Her identity wasn’t released by the ski resort, and her condition wasn’t known.
