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A 22-YEAR-OLD Australian woman has tragically died after a ski lift accident while on a working holiday in Japan.

Brooke Day sustained critical injuries while snowboarding at the Tsugaike Mountain ski resort in Otari, after her backpack got tangled in a lift buckle.

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Brooke Day was snowboarding when she became caught in the chairliftCredit: Facebook
 

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Brooke’s backpack got tangled in a lift buckle as she was trying to get offCredit: Alamy
 

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A probe will be launched into the tragic accidentCredit: Facebook
It is understood that she was dragged through the snow while her chest strap was still fastened.

Resort staff pressed an emergency button to stop the lift and Brooke, who had reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest, was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Tragically, she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards on Sunday.

Brooke, from Queensland, was working at physio clinic in the resort as a receptionist.

She described herself as a people person who liked “getting to know the patients and making them feel welcome and seen”.

Japanese media previously misnamed her as Ella Day Brooke, which has since been corrected.

The Tsugaike Mountain resort and Tsugaike Gondola Lift Co apologised for the accident.

A probe will be launched into her death, they added.

The company’s chief executive also expressed condolences to her family and promised to do the utmost to help them.

In a statement, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Japan”.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the spokesperson said.

The tragedy follows of a string of terrifying chairlift incidents.

A tourist died on a ski lift at the Savin Kuk resort, near the mountain town of Žabljak, in Montenegro, after the chair suddenly slid 230ft backwards and collided with the seat behind – trapping his wife.

The 34-year-old man from Germany fell from the lift and was pronounced dead at the scene.

His wife, 30, was left stranded in the broken chair for hours after witnessing the horror incident unfold.

And in January 2025, two young women were left in intensive care and at least 30 others were seriously injured when a ski lift pulley broke at a Spanish ski resort.

The incident at the Astún ski resort in Huesca left around 80 skiers and snowboarders dangling from the chairs of the lift as emergency services raced to assist those caught in the tragedy.

The Civil Guard confirmed that the accident occurred when a chairlift line “fell off” due to a problem with the cable which lost tension.

This sent the chairlift plunging from a height of 15 metres.

Four helicopters were dispatched to the site, along with firefighters and a whopping 56 ambulances.

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Brooke was working at physio clinic in the resort as a receptionistCredit: Hakuba Physio
 

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The Tsugaike Mountain resort and Tsugaike Gondola Lift Co apologised for the accidentCredit: Alamy