Woman Dies in Gondola Fall at Swiss Ski Resort

A 61-year-old woman died after the gondola cabin she was riding alone detached from its cable and tumbled down a mountainside at the Engelberg-Titlis ski resort in central Switzerland on Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. local time on March 18 near the Trübsee intermediate station, at an elevation of approximately 2,000 meters on Mount Titlis. Authorities in the canton of Nidwalden confirmed the woman, a regional resident, was the sole occupant of the eight-passenger Titlis Xpress cabin when it broke free shortly after departing the station. The cabin slid and rolled several times down a snowy slope before stopping against a bush, where the woman sustained fatal injuries.

Police described the cause as unclear and launched an investigation, with preliminary indications pointing to severe weather conditions. Eyewitnesses reported strong gusts in the area, and one skier recounted seeing a "jerk" in the cable amid the winds before the detachment. Switzerland's national weather service recorded gusts up to 130 kilometers per hour in exposed areas above 1,800 meters, despite otherwise sunny skies. The service had issued a level 2 wind warning for moderate danger...