A man and a woman, both in their 50s, were thrown from the gondola and fell several meters to the ground. The man died and the woman remains in critical condition at a Montreal hospital.

Late Monday afternoon, the Sûreté du Québec announced that the deceased man is Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ontario.

The SQ and the Commission for Standards, Equity and Occupational Health and Safety (CNESST) are investigating to determine the circumstances under which this accident occurred. “Has the person on board (the exercise) fulfilled their duties? Why did this machine come into contact with the nacelle there? explained Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau of the SQ.

The questions are worrying, especially since these machines “were not necessarily intended for working on the mountain, that goes without saying, especially when the mountain is in operation.” […] Obviously an employee would have tried to move this machine and unfortunately at that moment there was an impact with the gondola,” said the police officer.

The investigation includes in particular an analysis of the machine itself, in order to understand in particular whether all the equipment was in motion or whether the machine included a mast and only this would have been in motion.

Although the hypothesis of criminal negligence cannot be ruled out, “it is certainly too early to say whether there will be criminal charges,” said Sergeant Bilodeau, adding that many witnesses were yet to be met. Investigators hope to eventually speak to the injured lady when she is able.

In a press release sent out on Sunday evening, the Mont Tremblant station said the gondola would remain closed until further notice.