Gondola plunges into the depths Four people die in cable car accident near Naples
Serious cable car accident in Italy: a gondola plunges into the depths near Naples. Four people die, another person is seriously injured.
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- Four people have died in a serious cable car accident in Italy.
- The gondola plummeted after a cable broke in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.
- According to initial reports, five people were in the cabin. Another passenger suffered serious injuries. The authorities did not initially provide any information on the identity of the fatalities.
A tragic end to an excursion shortly before Easter: four people have died in a cable car crash near the Italian city of Naples. The gondola plummeted near the village of Castellammare di Stabia on its way to a viewpoint after a cable broke, according to the Italian mountain rescue service.
The cable car leads to Monte Faito, a mountain more than 1100 meters high, from where you normally have a view of the Gulf of Naples. Visibility was poor that day due to dense fog. Why the cable snapped shortly before reaching the mountain station still needs to be clarified. The public prosecutor's office is investigating.
Fog makes rescue work difficult
The cabin, which had almost reached the summit, was carrying an employee of the regional operating company EAV and four tourists. One of the occupants escaped with serious injuries. According to the authorities, the fatalities were two holidaymakers from England, one from Israel and an Italian.
More than a dozen other passengers were rescued with ropes from other cabins on the train, including several foreigners. Rescue helicopters were also deployed. The rescue work was made more difficult by the fog.
The mayor of Castellamare di Stabia, Luigi Vicinanza, reported at the scene of the accident that the train cable had broken for unknown reasons. The emergency brake in the valley had worked, but obviously not the brake on the cable car going up. The cabin had just been about to enter the mountain station.
Popular with tourists
According to the mayor, the cable car had only been back in operation for a week after the winter break. Last year, more than 100,000 people rode it, including many foreign tourists. Naples is one of the most visited cities in Italy.
The cable car to Monte Faito has been in operation since 1952 and the journey normally takes just under ten minutes. A fatal accident had already occurred there in 1960. Back then, four people lost their lives when a gondola crashed and more than 30 were injured. In summer 2021, a cabin carrying 31 passengers was stuck for more than an hour on the way down due to a power failure. No one was injured.