Ambulances and helicopters have been ferrying the injured to nearby hospitals.

One of Spain’s public broadcasters reports that dozens of people remain hanging from the 15-metre-high chairlift awaiting rescue.

A witness told local media that it looked like a cable had come off, the chairs had bounced and people were thrown from the lift.

The cause of the cable failure is not yet known.

Images on social media purport to show one of the chairlift’s flywheels off it’s spoke.

Video posted by Spain’s Guardia Civil shows a helicopter flying past the scene before landing to allow emergency workers to disembark.