Four people have died after a cable car crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy on Thursday.
The accident happened at Monte Faito, a peak around 45 kilometres south-east of Naples.
‘The cabin at the top has crashed, casualties are feared,’ said Umberto De Gregorio, the chairman of firm Ente Autonomo Volturno, which operates the cable car service, calling it ‘a tragedy.’
Italian news outlet Ansa reported another person was seriously injured.
It is understood firefighters and mountain rescue teams are currently at the site, but are said to have had difficulty working due to strong winds and bad weather.
Around 16 passengers who were riding in a separate cabin are all safe.
Three people have died, one is seriously injured and another is missing after a cable car crashed to the ground in Monte Faito
Several Italian media reports said one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped.
At around 4:30pm local time, local media reported that the cable car had broken down and had left two cabins with about 15 passengers on board suspended mid-air.
Ente Autonomo Volturno, the company that operates the cable car, said that all passengers were fine and were ‘descending safely’.
But around an hour and a half later, local media reported that contact had been lost with one of the cable cars.
It was then confirmed by EAV president De Gregorio that the cabin at the top of the mountain had fallen.
The Monte Faito cable car connects the historic town of Castellammare di Stabia with Monte Faito.
The horrific accident happened just a week after the site reopened for the season.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
