174 skiers and snowboarders rescued after ski lift in Colorado cracks

The incident occurred at Winter Park Resort in Colorado (Byron Hetzler/AP)

Officials are investigating what caused a crack in a Colorado ski lift that forced the evacuation of more than 170 stranded skiers and snowboarders.

The gondola lift at Winter Park Resort, about 70 miles west of Denver, automatically stopped when it detected the crack in a structural piece of the lift just after noon on Saturday, resort spokesperson Jen Miller said.