Woman remains in hospital after deadly gondola crash at Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant

A woman remains in hospital in critical condition a day after a deadly gondola crash at Quebec’s popular Mont-Tremblant resort.

A man and woman in their fifties visiting from Ontario, were thrown from a sightseeing gondola at the resort in the Laurentian Mountains on Sunday, killing the man and critically injuring the woman.

Quebec’s coroner’s office confirms the identity of the deceased as 50-year-old Sheldon Johnson, from Kingston, Ontario.

The woman, 58-year-old Marichu Gleyo survived, but was expected to undergo surgery Monday. Her sister posting on Facebook, asking friends to pray.

The two are said to be from different cities. Their connection as of Monday afternoon was still unclear.

Provincial police (SQ) said the crash occurred shortly before noon when a piece of construction equipment struck the gondola when it was in the middle of the mountain. It is believed the piece of equipment was a drilling machine operating below the gondola.

Police say the machine first struck an unoccupied gondola before it collided with the second car, inside which were the two Ontarians.

A statement from Station Mont-Tremblant said the construction equipment involved in the collision was operated by a third party.

By Monday afternoon, the SQ said the woman remained critical but stable in hospital in Montreal, that she was headed into surgery, but wasn’t out of danger yet.

Officers with the SQ major crimes unit are investigating.

“There is a criminal investigation to see if there was negligence or something like that,” explained Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, Sûreté du Québec spokesperson.

The SQ is also working with the Quebec workers safety board (CNESST) as the case involves machinery and workers. That machinery will also be investigated by SQ officers who are still on the scene Monday morning and will likely be there a few days.

“At this time it is still far too early to speculate on the circumstances of the accident,” said Cindy L’Heureux of the CNESST’s inspection prevention department.

The investigation will look at what exactly the machinery was doing at the time of the incident.

“We’re interested in the working methods that were used,” said L’Heureux. “What was the supervision of the workers? What was the training?”

“The construction machine that was involved in the accident, the CNESST decided it can’t be moved or used,” said L’Heureux. “The same is true for the gondolas, so they are at a standstill until further notice for the time it will take for us to collect information to fully understand what happened.”

Bilodeau said police officers were on site Monday and hoped to meet with the drill operator a man in his 30s and other witnesses to the collision. The machine will be inspected in the coming days, Bilodeau said, adding that investigators also hope to speak with the female victim should her health allow it.

“If the victim is getting better, she’s going to be also a very important witness to be meet,” said Bilodeau. “So there is still a lot to do, probably they’re going to be finished working on the mountain during the day, but the investigation will be continuing for the following days.”

In the hours after the incident, the ski resort said it was cancelling the remainder of its Tremblant Blues festival, which was scheduled to end Sunday night.

“To our community, due to an incident on the gondola today, July 16, we regret to inform you that we are canceling the remaining of the Blues and closing our activities for the day, out of respect for those involved,” the resort wrote on its Facebook page. “We thank you for your understanding.”

Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx tweeted about the incident Sunday afternoon saying she is following the situation closely.

“We have been informed of a sad accident at Mont-Tremblant,” she wrote. “All the authorities are on site to shed light and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

The mountain resort is located around 105 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Flags at the resort were at half-mast on Monday.

Last December, a gondola crashed at Mont Sainte-Anne, near Quebec City, but no one was injured.