More than 50 people have been evacuated from a gondola at Whistler ski resort in Canada after a tower supporting the cables partially collapsed last night.

One of the gondola cars hit a bus shelter, while two more were left dangling when the tower collapsed.

A crane was brought in to support the leaning tower and fire crews worked quickly to evacuate three cars that were the most in danger. The towers support a wire cable that the gondola cars are attached to.

It took more than three hours to evacuate the 53 people stranded in about 30 gondolas in temperatures of minus 10C.

Graeme Bell, a skier in a gondola car that hit the ground said: "It was pretty freaky. We heard the noise of the tower collapsing and then the cabin started shaking and down it went.

"It hit the ground. It busted one of the windows and we jumped out," he told local television.

Passengers were complaining of sore backs and one man had a bloody head, he said. There were no serious injuries, according to police.

The resort, which is to host the alpine events of the 2010 Winter Olympics said in a news release that the gondola section where the incident took place is approximately 30 feet (nine meters) above the ground.

"We are very thankful that no one was seriously injured in this incident," the release said.

Sergeant Steve Wright, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the passengers who were rescued were in good spirits and were met by emergency health services. Frigid temperatures had not been a concern because the people were wearing protective ski clothing and were in a sheltered environment, he added.

Amber Turnau, a spokeswoman for the resort, said the tower that collapsed is on the lower half of the lift. She said Tower 4, the one that went down, is not far from the starting point.

The resort just unveiled a new lift connecting the peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the highest in the world at 1,427ft (435m) above the ground. But it was not affected by Tuesday's collapse, which was on another lift.

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