A holidaymaker said she thought she was going to die as she was tossed around on a ski lift as screaming man fell to the ground. Stephanie Burt, her family and lifelong friend Barnaby Dunning travelled Cervino in
Italy for a dream ski trip. But as winds picked up on the chairlift ride to the top of the peak, the woman and her pal were thrown about by the gusts.
Instagram footage taken by @marco_malcang captured the moment the chairlift was tossed about mid-air. In one part a gondola appeared to almost collide with the pair as a screaming skier fell to the ground beneath them. But bosses at the Breuil-Cervinia resort where the Matterhorn is based are said to have down-played the danger the mum and her friend faced during her terrifying ordeal. Mrs Burt, an interior designer, who has skiied since she was three in her native
New Zealand, has since promised herself she would never ski in Italy again unless the resort improves its safety. Michelle Keegan’s ‘stunning’ new Very collection for spring is here from £15 Stephanie Burt thought she wouldn't survive the ski lift ordeal Stephanie saw a fellow skier fall to the ground below She said: "They're wiping their hands of it and I don't feel there's any safety protocols in place whatsoever. We spent 40 minutes holding on for our lives, listening to and there's been no communication, and nobody has checked if we're doing okay. We were traumatised. I was in shock. And they think that our lives were not at risk. It's insane." The 48-year-old and university pal Mr Dunning had gone up Cretaz chairlift on Thursday and visibility began to dip. There was no suggestion from the lift operator that it was unsafe. But the lifts were 'deactivated' because 70kmh (43mph) winds had been exceeded. This left the pair and another skier in the car behind twisting in the wind. She told the Daily Mail : "Our bottoms were off of the seats, we were holding onto the front bubble and literally swinging in midair. The lifts were 'deactivated' because 70kmh (43mph) winds had been exceeded "The only reason I'm alive is because I was there with Barnaby, who weighs 100kg and could hold it down. At one stage, my ski was up over my shoulder." Ms Burt said a skier in the chair behind was 'screaming' as the winds increased. The plastic bubble he was in then allegedly opened and acted 'like a sail', throwing his chair about before he fell to ground below which was caught on video by another skier on
Social Media. Ski patrollers met him and he was airlifted to hospital. Mrs Burt was later played a recording where he told
police he jumped because he feared for his safety. Cervino S.p.A, who operate the resort, told
BBC News , passengers had "all reached their destination safely". Mrs Burt added: "His screams were harrowing. It sounded like he was falling to his death. The fear of God was put into me in that lift. It was the most frightening experience of my life." She added that about 20 minutes later workers arrived to climb the pylon next to theirs to 'fix a sensor' that would allow the lift to begin moving again. Mirror Online has contacted the Breuil-Cervinia resort for comment.