In February 2011, schoolboy Kieran Brookes was on his first ski trip in France with Torquay Boys’ Grammar School. When disembarking from a chair lift, his backpack became entangled leaving him suspended around 15 metres above the ground for approximately 15 minutes, restricting his breathing. He later died on March 17th, 2011 after being flown back to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. A pathologist told the inquest it was unclear whether Kieran was carrying or wearing the backpack when the incident happened.
It was found that a detector rod that shows if someone has not disembarked did not register Kieran at the time of the incident. The inquest heard how a German skier tried desperately to attract the attention of the ski lift officer, who was said to be looking at a worksheet at the time. Eventually after approximately 30 seconds, the operator pressed the emergency stop button. A prompt reaction to recuse him ensued, first by bringing out a crash mat, but unfortunately the effort to rescue him took a long time, as did moving the chairlift forward to a pylon. CPR was administered on the ground before Kieran was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Annecy. Ski lift supervisor Richard Cettour was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a French court and given a six month suspended jail sentence in November 2015.
The coroner found that Kieran “died as a result of unlawful killing because appropriate mechanisms were not in place to halt the ski lift in time”. Furthermore, he stated: “there were inadequate and inconsistent warning signs about the dangers of wearing backpacks on chair lifts”. The coroner will be writing a report to highlight the dangers posed by ski lifts, including usage of backpacks, concerns about the warning signs near ski lifts, advice and guidance on when to wear backpacks and the risk of loose straps.
A teacher on the school ski trip said she believed someone should have been able to stop the lift when Kieran got stuck. Teachers agreed that during pupils’ free ski time outside of lessons, there would always be a member of staff at the front of the group and a second member of staff at the back. These members of staff would also do a head count when pupils started getting on the chairlift and again when they got off. Members of staff had counted the boys at the bottom of the lift and were aware that the boys had gone on ahead of them on the busy six-seater chair lift. One of the members of staff spotted a boy hanging from the chair lift, but the three staff supervising the group were unaware it was one of the group until the chair lift had resumed after 35 minutes and they carried out a headcount at the top of the lift to find one child was missing.
Three immediate recommendations were made following the accident, which included the detection of cable car passengers in difficulty. Furthermore, five new recommendations followed these; three concerning the risks of wearing bags and clothes straps and two on the operation of ski lifts.
This school trip had a clear staff supervision structure. Kieran's tragic death was caused by a lack of “appropriate mechanisms” and a lack of visible warning signs and advice on wearing backpacks. Before departing for a ski trip, seek advice from the ski resort you are visiting on their specific procedures for different ski lifts in the resort. Do they suggest the removal of backpacks on chairlifts? By having this information before you depart, you can instruct pupils and parents in pre-departure meetings, as well as on arrival at the resort. It would also be sensible to briefly remind pupils of the procedures for the specific ski lift the group is approaching each time to ensure each member of the group knows what they’re doing. Additionally, it may be an idea to communicate with the ski school before pupils start their lessons to ask whether instructors could remind pupils during lessons to ensure procedures are perfectly clear.
