Allison Sylte and Janet Oravetz

KUSA-TV, Denver

GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — A mother was killed after she and her two daughters fell off a chairlift at Granby Ranch ski area Thursday morning.

Investigators said the mother, a 40-year-old woman from San Antonio, fell off the Quickdraw Lift around 9:30 a.m. MT when it was halfway up the slope. Her two daughters, ages 9 and 12, also fell. Both were injured and taken to a hospital. One girl was later released.

Firefighters did not say how the three fell, or if suspicious circumstances were involved.

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Names have not been released.

Granby Ranch is located approximately 20 miles west of Winter Park.

Fatal falls from chair lifts are rare in the United States, according to data from the National Ski Areas Association.

A report published by the group in October shows there have been 12 deaths since 1973 (when NSAA began compiling industry statistics) attributed to chairlift malfunctions. During that same time period the industry provided more than 16.7 billion lift rides to skiers and boarders.

The most recent death of a guest due to a lift malfunction at a U.S. ski resort was in 1993, when a Sierra Ski Ranch detachable-grip lift malfunctioned. In 1985, there were two deaths caused by a malfunction of a lift at Keystone ski area.

According to the NSAA it is even more rare for a fatal fall to occur from a chairlift that is not related to a malfunction of some kind.

"Fatalities from falls from lifts are extraordinarily rare," said Dave Byrd, the director of Risk and Regulatory Affairs for the National Ski Areas Association. "This is one of three that we know of in the last 10 years in the United States where a fatality has occurred from someone falling out of chair lift."

Most non-fatal falls from lifts are not recorded or collected by state agencies except in Colorado, where it's required by law.

NSAA analyzed data from the 2001-02 to 2011-12 ski seasons that was reported to the Colorado Tramway Safety Board. It found there were 227 falls from chair lifts and 86% were attributed to skier error. Just 2% of falls were related to mechanical or operator errors.

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