British family sues over Whistler gondola collapse

A British family whose children were involved in a gondola accident on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, B.C., has filed a lawsuit against the ski hill and the gondola manufacturer.

Vancouver lawyer Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, who is representing the Hargrave family, said the family was traumatized and injured by the incident on Dec. 16,2008.

The Hargraves' four children, along with a friend, were trapped inside a gondola cabin after a gondola tower partially collapsed, causing the line to sag.

"The five kids who were in the gondola were terrified ... They had never experienced anything like this in their lives before," Wilhelm-Morden said.

"The parents rushed to the bottom of the lift and saw the gondola dangling with their children in it, and they were obviously traumatized as well."

Wilhelm-Morden said all five children suffered soft-tissue injuries and psychological trauma.

This is the first lawsuit to be filed against Blackcomb Mountain and Intrawest Mountain Resorts and Doppelmayr CTEC Ltd. in connection with the incident.

The collapse was blamed on water which leaked into the tower, froze and expanded, causing a joint to crack.

A total of 53 people were trapped, and 13 people were injured.