Four tourists were killed after a mountain cable car cabin jumped into the ground near Naples, southern Italy, according to emergency services.
Others were “very seriously injured” in the crash at Mount Fight, officials said, and they were airlifted to the hospital.
Italian media reported that the cabin was near the top of the mountain when one of the cables snapped.
The second cabin at the time was also on the line, but near the bottom of the valley – 16 people were then rescued and safely winked.
The prosecutors have begun an investigation.
Vincenzo de Luca, president of the region, said all the victims were tourists.
De Luca added that bad weather, including fog, wind and rain, made it difficult for rescuers to access the area where the cabin crashed.
More than 50 firefighters have participated in the rescue operation, according to the fire department.
Italian media reported that the cable car was driving through a steep area when the cable snapped. Mount Fight is 1,100m above sea level.
The mayor of Castella Malledistia, where the cable car was located, said the traction cable is believed to have been snapped.
“The downstream emergency brake worked, but it was clearly not on the shed that was about to reach the top of the hill,” he told Italian media.
He added that there were regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs three kilometres from the town to the top of the mountain.
The company that operates the EAV public transport service said the seasonal cable cars “reopened 10 days ago in all the necessary safety conditions.”
“What happened today is an unimaginable, unpredictable tragedy,” said Umberto de Gregorio, CEO of Eav.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was traveling to Washington at the time of the incident, said he had “expressed sincere sadness” to the victims’ families.
Fight Mountain Cable Car has been operating since 1952. A similar accident on the Line in 1960 killed four people.
In 2021, 14 people joined the cable vehicle as nearby mountains surged into the ground on Lake Magiore in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The cause was determined to be a defect in the snapped cable and emergency braking.
