A cable car in Italy plunged to the ground and continued tumbling down a slope Sunday, killing at least 14 people on board and injuring others.
The fall near Mottarone peak by Lake Maggiore was reportedly a result of a cable breaking, according to Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino, who said the car overturned “two or three times before hitting some trees,” as some were tossed out of it. Outside of those who have died, authorities say a child was taken to the hospital with broken bones and in serious condition, according to the Associated Press. Another child taken to Turin’s Regina Margherita children’s hospital died Sunday after hospital spokesman Pier Paolo Berra said “there was nothing more we could do.” Though the number of fatalities was initially reported as around 12 to 13 people, multiple sources have now confirmed 14 deaths as a result of the incident.
Italian media reported that the car is believed to have fallen roughly 50 feet, which Severino told Italy’s SkyTG24 led to a “terrible, terrible scene.” The Italian government will be investigating the plunge. Walter Milan, spokesman for Italy’s Alpine rescue service, said the cable line was renovated in 2016 and just opened back up since COVID first hit. The AP reports that the tragedy is likely Italy’s worst cable car disaster since 1998 when a U.S. military jet cut a cable in Cavalese, which killed 20 people.
After the tragedy, President Sergio Mattarella asked for the “rigorous respect of all security norms” in Italian transportation.
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