1997 Thredbo Landslide - Landslide

Landslide

Eighteen people died when the Bimbadeen and Carinya Lodges were destroyed at Thredbo Alpine Village at 11:35 pm on Wednesday, 30 July 1997. About 3,500 tonnes (3,900 tons) of earth and debris came down the slope.

As the unstable slope above the four-storey Carinya Lodge (owned by the Brindabella Ski Club) slipped downhill it hit the east wing of the Carinya Ski Lodge, tearing it in two. This initial landslide removed the support for the Alpine Way road which in turn collapsed, shearing the western half of Carinya from its foundations, allowing it to slide downhill until it collided with the Bimbadeen Ski Lodge at high speed, destroying both. Bimbadeen Staff Lodge was then hit, and it too collapsed. Witnesses reported hearing "a whoosh of air, a crack and a sound like a freight train rushing down the hill". John Cameron, a member of Brindabella Ski Club, who was alone in Carinya, along with 17 residents in Bimbadeen, lost their lives when the Lodges were destroyed.

At 11:37 pm, New South Wales Fire Brigades Communication Centre at Wollongong received emergency calls from the lodge at Thredbo. The local fire brigades had responded to reports of a 'small explosion' in the village. The first report to come through said that 100 people had been trapped.

Police arrived at 12:30 am, and evacuated the area. A regional disaster was declared, with Goulburn established as the disaster coordination centre for the region, with Sydney also notified. Medical staff were sent from Cooma to Thredbo, and also from Canberra to Jindabyne, which was a point for triage. Four specialists were flown from St George Hospital in Sydney to Thredbo. By 2:30 am, there were 100 professional services on the scene, and many volunteers such as from the Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) of New South Wales, the State Emergency Service (SES) of New South Wales and the Australian Red Cross.