MONT-TREMBLANT, Qc – One person has died and another is in critical condition after construction machinery struck the panoramic gondola they were traveling in in the Laurentians village of Mont-Tremblant.

The force of the impact would have thrown the two occupants of the gondola, a man and an adult woman from outside the region, “ejected outside and fell,” said the Sûreté du Québec in an email.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, rescue workers were called to the scene of the accident, confirmed Sûreté du Québec spokesman Sergeant Eric Cadotte.

“Unfortunately, the two people fell several meters and landed on the ground,” he said.

The death of one of the two victims was confirmed by the authorities a few hours after the incident.

The second is still in critical condition and has been transported to a hospital in the metro area, where fears are for her life.

Investigators from the SQ’s Serious Crimes Unit were on site in the afternoon to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident. They work with the Commission on Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST).

In the evening, the SQ clarified that at this stage of the investigation all hypotheses are considered, including criminal negligence that led to the death.

“It is part of the standard protocol that people from serious crimes carry out the analyses. They created a scene in the middle of the mountain, under the gondola, to clarify the circumstances, but it’s too early to draw any conclusions,” said Sergeant Cadotte.

Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx said on Twitter that she was “closely monitoring” the situation.

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

“We are deeply saddened by this situation and Station Mont Tremblant sends our sincere condolences to all involved,” wrote Annique Aird, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications at Station Mont Tremblant.

The International Blues Festival was suspended

In response to the tragedy, the Mont-Tremblant International Blues Festival has canceled the rest of its programming, which ended this Sunday. “(We) regret that we have had to cancel the rest of Tremblant Blues and have had to close all activities out of respect for the people involved,” the organizer of the event said on its Facebook page.

Because the situation “is still evolving,” the Tremblant Resort Association, the nonprofit that manages the resort, declined the Canadian press’s request for an interview.

Last December, a gondola crashed, this time at Mont Sainte-Anne in the Quebec region. However, no one was injured in the incident as the cabin was unoccupied.