A ski lift malfunctioned when several chairs slid off track and collided Saturday morning, causing injuries, at a resort near State College, officials said.

Some skiers and snowboarders were stranded on the lift for as long as two hours at Tussey Mountain in Boalsburg as rescue crews lowered them with ropes and ladders, Aaron Weyman, the resort's marketing director, told the Trib.

Five people suffered minor injuries, State College police said.

A ski instructor who was on the lift was transported to a hospital for a possible broken jaw, Weyman said.

"No one fell from the lift," he said. "The lift did not collapse."

The incident occurred around 10 a.m. when one chair on the lift slid off track and collided with a second, creating a "domino effect." In total, four chairs slipped along the lift's haul rope.

"We're not sure what caused this, whether it was a wind or weight issue," Weyman said.

Resort officials shut down the lift and rescue crews began assisting with retrieving skiers from the chairs.

"I'm not sure how many people were rescued, but we had a lot of people out there today," Weyman said. "We certainly take this very seriously and never want it to happen again."

Still lowering skiers and snowboarders off the lift. several chairs slipped on the cable into eachother. No life threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/qSregVxAiP

— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) December 16, 2017

Tussey Mountain will close Sunday as the resort begins investigating the cause of the malfunction. Weyman said. Dec. 22 is a possible reopening date.

"We feel confident we did everything by the book and it was an unfortunate accident that we hope to diagnose," he said. "All of our equipment tested by appropriate Pennsylvania bodies. We have already reached out to manufacturer of the chair lift in an attempt to diagnose what caused the malfunction."

Later Saturday, Tussey Mountain released a statement that said: "The equipment in question was tested and given a passing grade by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry's Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety Elevator Division, however we have begun taking the necessary steps to ensure a situation like this will never happen again."

Tussey Mountain opened for the ski season on Saturday. The resort has ski trails on 50 acres with 3 ski and snowboard lifts and 1 snowtube lift, according to its website.

At the time the office was notified of a lift malfunction and when this original tweet was made, we were under the impression it was solely a lift issue and there were no injuries. We apologize to anyone who was offended by our hashtag.

— Tussey Mountain (@TusseyMountain) December 16, 2017

Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @Bencschmitt.

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