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Boy hanging from ski lift saved by quick-thinking teenagers in Vancouver

Group broke child’s fall using padding held in orange netting

Clark Mindock
New York
Monday 04 March 2019 19:10 GMT
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(Screensot)

A group of teenagers have been called heroes after thinking fast to help an 8-year-old boy who was dangling from a ski lift.

James MacDonald, 14, said he saw the young boy dangling while he was on the Vancouver slopes with his friends. They acted quickly by grabbing some orange safety netting and pads, then held it underneath the child to break his fall.

“He was starting to flail about and get extremely panicked,” James told CNN.

A video of the incident shows the group of teenagers, alongside a man and a woman, rushing to set up the netting as the 8-year-old dangled from the lift. He was only being held up by his father at the time.

While the net was being set up, the group below attempted to calm the child down. They then told him to remove his skis, and then to drop into the netting.

A spokesperson for the ski resort, Grouse Mountain, said the boy was then cared for by the mountain’s ski patrol. He was later taken to be evaluated at a hospital, but was determined to have suffered no injuries.

An investigation is underway, the spokesperson said.

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“Safety is our top priority and we will be taking appropriate action based on the results of the investigation,” the statement read.

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