(CNN) -- Canadian ski resort gondola cars that were left dangling and swaying with terrified skiers inside failed because ice buildup snapped a supporting tower, the resort said Thursday. 

One gondola car is suspended above an icy creek at a ski resort near Whistler, British Columbia. 

In a rare occurrence called ice-jacking, water seeped into the lower section of the lift tower and turned to ice Tuesday at Whistler Blackcomb resort, 177 kilometers (110 miles) north of Vancouver, a resort official said in a press release Thursday. 

The lift hangs from a tower that is spliced into two parts. 

Extremely cold temperatures caused the ice buildup that exerted 800 tons of pressure between the two parts that hold the tower together, causing them to rupture, according to Whistler Blackcomb. 

The section of the lift affected by the accident had 15 cars going up the mountain and 15 coming down at the time, but they weren't carrying a lot of passengers, according to Doug Forseth, senior vice president of the resort. 

He said 53 passengers had been rescued from the stranded cars. 

No skiers at the Whistler, British Columbia, resort were seriously injured. 

"The towers are not normally designed to allow for any water penetration and so this failure is a very unusual situation," said Warren Sparks, senior vice president of Doppelmayr Canada, the engineering firm that investigated the accident. 

They are trying to figure out what caused the water to pool. He said independent structural engineers are examining the tower from Vancouver-based CVMM Consulting Engineers. 
What is the name of the town that one of the gondola cars was suspened above an icy creak near?
Whistler