INTERLAKEN One person was killed and several others were injured when lift chairs carrying skiers fell to the ground in an accident near the Alpine ski resort of Grindelwald, officials said yesterday.

A man died and a woman suffered serious injuries in the accident after a cable apparently jumped off a guidewheel at one of the chairlift's support towers that rise up to 46 feet from the slopes, according to an official in charge of the investigation.

Several other people received minor injuries, said Joseph Zeder of the independent investigation bureau for railway, funicular and boat accidents.

Further details about the victims were not immediately available.-AP