A similar chairlift accident at a Japanese ski resort was narrowly avoided just weeks before a young Australian woman tragically lost her life in almost identical circumstances.
Young, adventurous and enjoying the experience of living and working abroad, Brooke Day was spending what should have been another perfect winter day on the slopes of Japan‘s famed Hakuba Valley.
Instead, the 22‑year‑old Sunshine Coast snowboarder spent agonising minutes trapped and suspended from a chairlift after her backpack became entangled as she disembarked, before going into cardiac arrest.
In a sad twist her family has now revealed that Brooke wore a special ‘avalanche rescue’ backpack with airbags to keep herself and friends safe in the event of snowstorms on the slopes.
They said Day was an advanced snowboarder who had loved the sport since she was 11, and was on her fourth extended snow season in Japan.
She later died in hospital.
Ms Day lost her life just 12 days after another skier was almost dragged around the same Tsuga 2 chairlift at Tsugaike Kogen Snow Resort, with an operator managing to stop the lift in time to prevent disaster.
Former workers and recent visitors to the resort have since questioned safety procedures, with one former gondola operator claiming safety measures were ‘mediocre at best.’
How the tragic end for a fit and healthy 22-year-old Australian unfolded last Friday as Brooke Day prepared to spend a pleasant day snowboarding on the mountain
Brooke Day, 22, was having the time of her young life pursuing the dream of living and working in Japan, which she loved, when tragedy struck while she was getting off a chairlift with her snowboard
Another person familiar with the incident alleged the emergency stop mechanism may not have been activated quickly enough, leaving the young Australian suspended for several minutes as staff worked to free her.
‘Girl got pulled around the corner and the liftie stopped it just in time before she was suspended. Managed to get untangled and walk back to the dismount area.’
One person said a similar incident had occurred just weeks earlier.
‘I watched this exact thing happen on this exact lift on January 18,’ they said.
Another skier said the same thing happened to them last Saturday at neighbouring resort Hakuba Norikura, but they were saved after staff acted quickly.
‘The same exact thing happened to me … and the operator responded quickly enough to save me.
‘I didn’t even consider the danger. RIP.’
Ms Day, who came from a sport‑loving Sunshine Coast family, had been working as a receptionist at Hakuba Physio, a snow sports injury clinic in Hakuba Valley, during Japan’s ski season.
It is believed that Brooke Day’s buckle at the end of the waist belt attached to her backpack got caught in the chairlift, and she was dragged and suspended around the bullwheel with her throat constricted, and was not pulled down for several minutes
Tsugaike Kogen resort, about 280km north‑west of Tokyo near Nagano, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, is popular with families and international visitors.
Friends say Brooke loved her life in Japan and had embraced the opportunity to live and work overseas.
How the tragedy unfolded
On the morning of January 30, Brooke travelled by gondola to the top of Mt Tsuga before walking to the Tsuga 2 two-seat chairlift, which services both advanced and intermediate runs.
At about 9.15am, as she attempted to disembark, her backpack became caught in the lift mechanism.
The resort’s chief executive, Tsuneo Kubo, said that an unfastened waist buckle on her backpack became hooked on the chair, while the bag’s seperate chest strap remained fastened, causing her to be dragged after attempting to disembark.
Normally, if a bag gets snagged, it may slide off a person’s shoulders.
But because the chest strap was fastened, the backpack remained firmly attached to her body, causing her to be dragged as the lift moved around the bullwheel to descend the mountain.
Brooke was snowboarding at the Tsugaike Kogen Mountain Resort (pictured) last Friday morning when her backpack became entangled with the chairlift, and she was dragged, suspended by the machine, and went into cardiac arrest.
Brooke Day (right) was remembered as a talented young sportswoman as well as kind and fun-loving
Brooke Day came from a loving and very sporty family. Pictured (second right) with mother Deanne, sister Emma, brother Kain and her dad, Warren
The Days had been on snow holidays and travelled to Japan as a family prior to their youngest, Brooke (centre) going to work and live in Japan’s Hakuba Valley as a snow sports physio receptionist
‘The buckle at the end of the waist belt attached to the backpack that the customer was wearing was not fastened and got caught in the lift carrier,’ he said.
‘However, because the chest belt was still fastened, the backpack could not be removed from the body, and the customer was dragged along with the backpack after disembarking from the lift.
‘After that, an attendant pressed the stop button to stop the lift, and after swift first aid, the customer was taken to the hospital by ambulance.’
While an operator did press the emergency stop button, speculation remains about what happened next, with some claiming claiming the ’emergency stop was not enforced quickly enough’, leaving Brooke ‘dangling from a height and not able to be rescued’ onto the dismount platform.
‘Someone there says it took them 30 minutes before the lift started moving again and the other passengers could get off their chairs,’ one said.
While staff activated the emergency stop and rescuers freed her, police said she was already in cardiac arrest when brought down.
Suspended from the chair, Brooke may have had the backpack strap constricting her neck or compressing her chest, restricting her breathing.
She was transported to hospital but could not be saved.
Signs at the Tsugaike Kogen Snow Resort show recommended alighting methods for skiers, but one person who had operated a gondola lift on the mountain claimed safety measures were ‘mediocre at best’
Resort operator Nippon Ski Resort Development Co is examining security footage as part of ongoing investigations.
Safety features in the spotlight
Regular skiers say backpacks can pose a hazard when leaving chairlifts, with some resorts advising riders to remove them or carry them on their laps.
At some ski resorts around the world, chairlifts have a ‘trip-wire’ mechanism that automatically stops the lift if a person’s weight remains on a chair, preventing anyone from being dragged around the bullwheel as chairs loop back down the mountain.
Questions are now being raised on if this ski resort had similar safety measures.
Tributes flow for ‘lovely sweet girl’
Ms Day, the youngest of AFL sports administrator and building services manager, Warren ‘Speedy’ Day and specialist health centre CEO Deanne Day, Brooke was regarded by family friends as ‘a lovely sweet girl who was living her best life and loved Japan’.
Tributes poured in from clubs where she played both AFL and rugby.
Brooke (second left) leaves behind a loving and sports-mad family: from left, mum Deanne, brother Kain, sister Emma, and dad Warren.
The Nambour Toads Rugby Union Club wrote: ‘We are heartbroken by the loss of Brooke Day, an iconic member of our Senior Women’s squad over the past two seasons.
‘On the field, Brooke played with courage, determination, and she continued to grow and improve with every game that she played.
Off the field, her smile, kindness, and fun-loving spirit lit up our club, and she was never one to shy away from our off-field festivities.
‘Taken far too soon, she was not only a talented young rugby player but a cherished teammate, friend, and daughter. Rest easy beautiful Brooke – you will never be forgotten.’
Ms Day leaves behind her parents, brother, sister, extended family and a wide circle of friends in Australia and Japan who say she was ‘living her best life’ before tragedy struck.
Ms Day’s family have revealed in a statement that she died in hospital on Sunday with her family by her side.
‘We would like to thank her friends who rendered assistance in her time of need, and stayed with her until we arrived in Japan, as well as the staff at the Omachi General Hospital who did everything in their power to save her,’ the Days’ statement said.
They said Brooke only just completed a three-day avalanche course and used her newfound knowledge to help rescue four people from life-threatening situations in recent weeks.
Brooke Day was living and working in the Japan’s Hakuba Valley, 280km northwest of Tokyo, when she went snowboarding last Friday at the Tsugaike Kogen Snow Resort and tragedy struck
At the time of the accident Ms Day was wearing the avalanche rescue backpack, which have a rapid-expansion airbag to keep people near the snow surface during an avalanche.
