Cable crash 'human error' claim

The manufacturers of the cable car blamed the crash on human error

A cable car collision in the Scottish Highlands in which five people were injured was caused by operator error, its Austrian manufacturer has claimed.

Doppelmayr, which makes the Nevis Range gondola system, said an alarm sounded before one of the cars crashed into another - but no action was taken.

The accident at the Nevis Range, near Fort William, happened on 13 July.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the cause of the crash is under way.

A gondola at the Nevis Range malfunctioned and crashed into another car behind it before falling 30ft to the ground.

Four people are still recovering in hospital and Nevis Range said the system would be running again soon.

We don't know why this cabin wasn't brought back into the station for a check Christoff Hinteregger Doppelmayr

Three of the casualties in Raigmore hospital in Inverness have been named as Craig Harris, Teresa Murphy and their three-year-old daughter Caitlin Harris.

A spokesman for the hospital said the family remained in a comfortable condition.

Christoff Hinteregger, technical director with gondola manufacturers Doppelmayr, told BBC Scotland: "Our engineers on the investigation team figured out that an open grip was not properly attached on to the cable.

"We have three safety systems and they are detecting a wrong position or an unclosed and unlocked grip. That is the function of those safety systems.

"One of three indicated or detected this wrong position."

Mr Hinteregger said there was a safety switch which acted as a brake if there was a problem with the grip, and normal practice would be to bring the gondola back to the station.

'Human error'

He said: "We don't know why this cabin wasn't brought back into the station for a check."

Mr Hinteregger said he was sorry for what had happened during the incident.

He claimed that there must have been human error as the safety systems worked as intended.

Mr Hinteregger added that the company was not "in charge" of allocating blame, as that was up to the investigating authorities.

The operators, Nevis Range, said they were aware of the claims but did not wish to comment.