Police are investigating the death of a woman who fell from a chairlift at the Anakeesta theme park in Tennessee.
Emergency services were called at 7.41pm on Thursday to reports that a woman had fallen from the lift that takes visitors into the mountaintop park in Gatlinburg, WBIR reported.
Officers from the Gatlinburg Fire & Rescue Department pronounced the woman dead at the scene, they said in a statement.
Witnesses told WLVT News they saw a woman in her late 20s fall from the lift about three-quarters of the way up the hill.
Jeffery McConnell told the news site that he and other visitors had been trying to alert the woman that her safety railing was up.
Mr McConnell and a second witness told WLVT News that Anakeesta continued to operate the chairlift for several minutes after the woman fell.
In a statement to WBIR, Anakeesta Vice President of Marketing and Sale Michele Canney said: “A tragic incident occurred this evening. 911 was called immediately. Our hearts are with the family of the deceased.”
Gatlinburg police and the Sevier County Medical Examiner’s office also responded to the scene and are investigating how the woman died.
Her name has not yet been released.
A message on Anakeesta’s website on Friday morning said its Chondola ride was closed. The park was due to open at 10am EDT.
