The ski season in the Swedish mountains has got a tragic start. Even before the sports holidays, which starts for the week, three people have died in a short period of time and many ski tourists in Åre are now responding to fatal accidents, pointing out that the safety of the slopes can be improved.
– I think, among other things, more safety nets should be set up on the edges of the slopes. That protects so that you do not go out into the forest, says David Carlsén, who is on a ski holiday in Åre.
On January 26, a seasonal worker is killed in the ski resort Branäs in Värmland. The accident occurred when the 20-year-old man was out snowboarding.
Just a few days after that, Wednesday, January 29, a 65-year-old man dies after crashing into a tree in the ski area Tegefjäll in the western part of Åre.
Just three days later, on February 1, an 18-year-old Norwegian man dies in yet another ski accident in Åre.
Went in the off -piste area
The man went in an off -piste area just below the Åreskutan. Exactly how the accident went on is not fully established.
Skistar, which runs the ski resort in Åre, thinks the events are extremely tragic but do not see that they have been able to do anything to prevent them.
– I am so sad and affected by these tragic incidents but based on our analyzes we cannot see how we have been able to do anything differently. For example, we simply cannot put mattresses on every tree in the terrain and it is also not possible to set up safety nets everywhere, says Sebastian Thomasson, destination manager for Skistar in Åre.
Easy to get hurt on the slopes
Kenneth Svensson was in Åre to go slalom and told him that a friend of him was injured as late as last week.
– We have a friend who has been injured, was hit on the slopes here last week, she stayed on the slopes and then one in full roll came straight ahead just and drove on her, says Kenneth Svensson.