Sugarloaf Mountain Lift Accident Leaves 7 Injured

— -- Workers at Sugarloaf Mountain evacuated more than 200 riders from a chair lift that malfunctioned today, injuring seven people, officials said.

The King Pine lift was in full operation this morning when it suddenly stopped and then started to go backwards, according to a spokeswoman for the Maine ski area.

The lift was immediately shut down and all available mountain safety personnel were sent to the scene to evacuate the skiers on the chair, the Maine ski resort said in a statement.

The injured guests were treated by ski patrol and were transported off the mountain. They were to be treated by emergency medical responders who were on site, the statement said.

Four people were taken to local hospitals with non-critical injuries, the hospital said this afternoon, adding that all three are in stable condition.

"There was definitely panic," said Hank Margolis, who was on the ski lift about a few hundred feet away.

"We heard people screaming," Margolis told ABC News. "Everyone was standing in the lift line concerned about people jumping into them. They were screaming and running away."

"There were people lying on the ground, they were definitely immobile," Margolis added.

Robin Lepage said her 23-year-old daughter was at the top of the lift and about to get off when the chair started moving backwards.

"They moved the bar back down and held on for dear life," Lepage told ABC News. "She said they stopped about half-way down and came to a grinding halt."

The chair then "swayed and hung there" for about an hour until they made it safely to the ground, Lepage said.

The lift was closed and the cause of the accident was under investigation, the statement from Sugarloaf said.