Cableway crash kills 14

Key points:

• The cable car collapsed on Mottarone Mountain near Lake Maggiore in Italy’s Piedmont region
• The line was renovated in 2016 and only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns 
• The Stresa-Mottarone cable car takes tourists and locals from the famous town of Stresa to the mountain top in 20 minutes

A mountaintop cable car plunged to the ground in northern Italy on Sunday, killing at least 14 people and seriously injuring three others.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it had been informed by Italian authorities that six Israeli nationals were among the dead.

The Israeli victims included an Italy-based family of four.

A photo of the wreckage taken by Italy’s fire squad showed the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore, in the Piedmont region.

At that location, the cables of the ski lift were particularly high off the ground, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Alpine rescue service.

The cause of the accident has not been determined.

“It is a very serious accident,” Mr Milan told RaiNews24 television.

Mr Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns forced the closures of ski lifts across Italy.

more… https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-23/italian-cable-car-plunges-to-the-ground-killing-14/100159480