Vail Mountain
(Photo : Reuters)

Jason Varnish, 46 years old, from New Jersey, died from asphyxia at a ski resort in Vail, Colorado after he slipped through an opening in a chairlift and got caught by his own coat.

Vail Mountain said in a statement that Varnish died due to the serious injury he had after he got stuck on a chair lift and his coat wrapped around his head and neck. 

According to a news outlet, Jason Varnish boarded the Skyline Express in the Blue Sky Basin on chair 37 when he fell through an opening in the seat and was caught by his coat that wrapped his neck and head. It was also found that the chair was left in an upright position that caused the man to fall.

Eagle County coroner Kara Bettis told The Daily Vaily that Varnish died of positional asphyxia. Meanwhile, the Vail Mountain Ski Patrol said that they responded immediately after knowing the incident. They performed CPR and emergency on-care before they took Varnish to Vail Health. However, the man was declared dead when they arrived. 

In a statement released by Vail Mountain, they said that the lift had been thoroughly inspected before it was used and was operating normally. However, Vail Mountain said that they are taking the incident seriously and are now conducting an investigation.

Beth Howard, the chief operating officer of Vail Mountain said that the Vail Mountain and the entire family of Vail Moutain resorts expressed their condolences to the family, family's guests, and friends. They also added that they will support the family in this time of sorrow.

Moreover, NBC News tried to reach out to Bettis for more details about the incident but she did not give any comments yet. In another news report, it was also found out that Jason Varnish attempted to load the Skyline Express Lift that led him to his death.

According to the Associated Press, the operators where the incident happened known as the Blue Sky Basin did an investigation was closed for 24 hours before they opened again on Friday. 

The death of Jason Varnish due to asphyxia came during a dangerous weekend in the area. In a report obtained from a CNN affiliate, it was found out that men got killed and buried because of an avalanche on mono track snow bikes in Eagle County.

These are only a few of the tragic events that occurred in the Vail Mountain during the President's Day weekend. It was reported that some lost their lives and that includes the death of Jason Varnish while others were able to prevent some tragic incidents.   

Eagle County Sheriff James Van Beek said: "Presidents Day is always kind of where our rule thumb is that we're going to start looking at more extreme avalanche conditions or more serious avalanche conditions. And true to form, it's happening," He also warned the guests and anyone coming in his place following the death of two persons who were buried and killed due to an avalanche.

With the snow continuing in the mountain, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center posted already warnings about the danger that the avalanche can cause. Avalanche Forecaster Spencer Logan said: "Right now across most of the northern and central mountains avalanche conditions are dangerous. People are triggering very large avalanches and sometimes They're triggering them from a distance."