Several skilifts plunged to the ground in the Spanish ski resort of Sierra Nevada today, injuring 21 people, according to a Spanish government spokeswoman.
The lifts fell after a vibrating cable jerked screws out of one of the lift's pillars at the ski station in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.
Two of the injured were taken to hospital with rib injuries but the others were less badly hurt and were attended at the ski station's medical centre.
Another 35-40 people had to be rescued after they got stuck on lifts which did not fall but ground to a halt, the spokeswoman said.
Newspaper El Mundoreported on its web site that the skiers fell from heights of up to eight metres (26 feet).
No one at the ski station was immediately available for comment.
Reuters