By Farid Farid
An Australian woman has died after a ski lift accident in a Japanese resort after her backpack got caught and she was left hanging mid-air.
Japanese news agency Kyodo said police had identified the snowboarder as 22-year-old Ella Day Brooke, who sustained critical injuries at the Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Otari near Nagano on Friday.
An unfastened waist belt buckle on her backpack became hooked on the lift chair while a chest strap was still securely fastened, causing her to be dragged along the snow and suspended mid-air, the resort said.
The lift was stopped by an attendant who pressed an emergency button and the snowboarder was rushed to hospital after suffering what appeared to be a cardiac arrest.
The Tsugaike Mountain Resort and Tsugaike Gondola Lift Co jointly apologised for the accident and said an investigation would be launched into the fatal incident.
The company’s chief executive also expressed deep condolences to the woman’s family and promised to do the utmost to help them.
Without naming Ms Brooke, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed to AAP on Monday that consular assistance was being provided to the deceased woman’s family.
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