Cable car terror: 14 killed, child the lone survivor as tourist ride collapses
A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people.
Ā
The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalised in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said.
The mayor of Stresa, where the incident occurred on Sunday, said it appeared that a cable broke, sending the car careening until it hit a pylon and then fell to the ground.
At that point, the car overturned ātwo or three times before hitting some trees,ā said Mayor Marcella Severino.
Some of those who died were thrown from the cabin.
The Italian government announced a commission to investigate the disaster, which is likely to renew questions about the quality and safety of Italyās transport infrastructure.
You might like
Images from the site showed the crumpled car in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore.
The car was believed to have fallen around 15 metres according to Italian media.
āIt was a terrible, terrible scene,ā Severino told Italyās SkyTG24.
The plunge on the the Stresa-Mottarone line happened about 100 metres before the final pylon, said Walter Milan, spokesman for Italyās Alpine rescue service.
By Sunday evening, the death toll had risen to 14 after one of two children taken to Turinās Regina Margherita childrenās hospital died.
The other young child ā who arrived at the hospital conscious ā remained in serious condition, authorities said.
Stay informed, daily
Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns in Italy curtailed travel and forced the suspension of many leisure activities.] Milan suggested many families may have flocked to the mountain on a sunny Sunday after months of restrictions.
The line is popular with tourists and locals alike to scale Mottarone, which reaches a height of 1490 metres and overlooks several picturesque lakes and the surrounding Alps of Italyās Piedmont region.
The mountain hosts a small amusement park, Alpyland, that has a childrenās rollercoaster, and the area also has mountain bike paths and hiking trails.
Premier Mario Draghi offered his condolences to the families of the victims āwith a particular thought about the seriously injured children and their families.ā
Sundayās tragedy appeared to be Italyās worst cable car disaster since 1998 when a low-flying US military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.
Italyās transport minister, Enrico Giovannini, announced a commission to look into the tragedy and said he had already requested data on the maintenance work and inspections done on the line in the past. He planned to visit the site Monday.
While the cause hasnāt been determined, the disaster was likely to raise questions about Italyās transport infrastructure. In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.
In 2009, a freight train carrying gas derailed at the Viareggio station, near Lucca, and exploded, killing 32 people. Poorly maintained axels of the train were blamed.
President Sergio Mattarella, in offering his condolences, called for the ārigorous respect of all security normsā in transportation.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
