Australian Woman Died of Asphyxiation in Nagano Ski Lift Accident; Victim Is Believed to Have Been Pulled Along by Backpack Chest Strap

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:11 JST, February 5, 2026

The cause of death for the woman who became suspended from a ski lift at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Otari, Nagano Prefecture, was hypoxic encephalopathy due to asphyxiation, prefectural police announced Tuesday.

According to the resort’s operating company, Tsugaike Gondola Lift Co., a safety device designed to detect abnormalities and automatically stop the lift appears not to have been operating at the time of the incident.

The victim in the accident, which occurred on Jan 30., was a 22-year-old Australian woman named Brooke Day. According to police and other sources, as she was getting off the lift, a clasp on her backpack became caught. It is believed that she was wearing the bag with a chest strap, causing her to be pulled along as the lift kept moving.

Tsugaike Gondola Lift said that the lift terminal where the accident occurred is equipped with a safety device — if a person or ski equipment comes into contact with a certain bar, the lift will stop moving automatically. The company also said no abnormalities were found during a morning inspection on the day of the accident. Because the lift did not automatically stop during the incident, a nearby attendant pressed a button to halt it, the company said.