A gondola crashed at the Hochschotts ski area in Austria on Tuesday. The police said that four people were seriously injured in the accident.

According to earlier reports, a tree fell on the support cable, causing the gondola to fall into the abyss. Police said it was not a technical glitch.

Many trees may have fallen on the cable car route. According to ORF, at least that's what Mikaela Burger of Bergbahn Hochchods said.

The gondola fell seven meters

According to ORF, the gondola fell to a depth of seven meters. Rescue workers were in large numbers. According to a spokesman for Bergbahnen Hochoetz, the crash site is in difficult terrain and foot forces and helicopters are in action.

Train service stopped

The Acherkogelbahn in the Hochoetz ski area was temporarily out of service due to the incident. All other skiers may have safely left the gondolas at a valley or mountain station, a police spokesman said. A nearly three-kilometer-long cable car transports skiers from the valley to about 2,000 meters above sea level.

With information from AFP and dpa