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Horrifying Ski Lift Malfunction in Georgia Throws People from Their Chairs

At least 10 people were injured when a ski lift in the country of Georgia started to run at a high speed in reverse, causing a scary pile-up.
Photos from IG / @pahomova_enduro22 and @ireneiadak

If you've ever been skiing or snowboarding before, the understanding of very real danger looms somewhere in the back of your mind—regardless of how good you are. One of the things you try to get over early on is your fear of the ski lift. But in the country of Georgia, a hellish scene of a malfunctioning ski lift rattles that notion to the core, after the lift went in reverse and launched passengers from their chairs at the bottom of the lift.

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CNN is reporting that at least 10 were injured in the feverish horrorscape of the accident, which took place at the Gudauri resort located in the Caucasus Mountain Range of Georgia. Skiers were being encouraged to jump off of the lift before reaching the bottom, where chairs started to pile up after being bucked off of the cable.

Per CNN:

Another eyewitness, Ukrainian Iryna Iadak, was on the lift with her boyfriend.

"The movement of the lift stopped and a minute later we drove back," she told CNN. "The speed increased, it was out of control. The lift could not be stopped. People began to jump from different altitudes, panic began. Many did not manage to jump off and were thrown out from the impact."

That sounds absolutely terrifying.

Here are scenes of the aftermath:

The Mountain Company, which is in charge of Gudauri resort, has reached out to the ski lift manufacturer Doppelmayr to start an investigation into the accident.