A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy's most picturesque lakes plunged to the ground Sunday, killing at least 14 people and sending two children to the hospital, ,one of them succumbed to injuries authorities said.
Rescue crews were continuing to search the area given possible indications that a 15th person might have been in the cable car, said Walter Milan, spokesman for Italy's Alpine rescue service. The scene of the wreckage 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.
At that location, about 100 meters (yards) before the final pilon, the cables of the lift were particularly high off the ground, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Alpine rescue service. The cause hasn't been determined.
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.
Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day in the area, and Milan hypothesized that families were taking advantage of the weather to enjoy a day in nature after months of lockdown. Italy only reopened a few weeks ago, allowing travel between regions after a winter of COVID-19 restrictions.
Mottarone reaches a height of 1,491 meters (4,900 feet) and overlooks several picturesque lakes and the surrounding Alps of Italy's Piedmont region. Milan said a total of 15 people were believed to be in the cable car at the time, though the exact number wasn't certain. The two children were in serious condition and were taken to a Turin hospital, Milan said.
Premier Mario Draghi offered his condolences to the families of the victims “with a particular thought about the seriously injured children and their families."
The trip up the mountain from the base at the lake features a cable car to get up most of the way and then a chairlift to reach a small amusement park, Alpyland, further up that has a children's rollercoaster offering 360-degree views of the scenery.
The site offers mountain bike paths and hiking trails, as is common for many Italian mountain areas that are popular with tourists and locals in spring and summer.
The Stresa-Mottarone cable car line advertises a panoramic, 20-minute trip up the mountain from its base at the lake, offering a view of a total of seven lakes at the peak.
It appeared to be Italy's worst cable car disaster since 1998 when a low-flying U.S. military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.
Italy's transport minister, Enrico Giovannini, was following the rescue effort, which involved the deployment of three helicopters to the mountainside.
While the cause hasn't been determined, it's the latest incident to raise questions about the quality of Italy's transport infrastructure. In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.The National Alpine rescue service said a call came just after 12pm Italian time and that the cable car was found 'crumpled' in the woods. The accident is believed to have been caused by one of the cables breaking, and is likely to raise questions about the quality of Italy's transport infrastructure.
The rescue service said 13 people were killed and two children aged five and nine were airlifted to a paediatric hospital in Turin. Coroners have started identifying the victims, who included foreign nationals, Severino said.
The mayor told SKY television that some of the victims had been found trapped inside the car, with others thrown out into the woods. Another injured person, an adult, was also been taken to hospital by helicopter, she added.
Italian premier Mario Draghi voiced his condolences to the families of the victims, 'with a special thought' for the injured children, while transport minister Enrico Giovannini described the incident as a 'terrible tragedy'.
The accident may have been caused by a broken cable at the top of the system, according to ANSA news agency.
'It is a very serious accident,' Walter Milan, a spokesman for the national alpine rescue service told RaiNews24 television.
The rescue call arrived just after 12pm and the cable car had fallen from very high and was now sitting, 'crumpled' in the woods below, Milan added.
He 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.
The cable car service first opened in August 1970 after almost three years of works to replace a cog railway, its website said.
The dual cable system is split into two sections, just over two kilometres between Stresa and Alpino and another three kilometres between Alpino and Mottarone. It consist of two cars - in alternate directions - with each one carrying up to 40 passengers, it added.
The mountain hosts a small amusement park, Alpyland, that has a children's rollercoaster, and the area also has mountain bike paths and hiking trails.
Severino said that important maintenance works, including changing the cables, had been carried out in recent years. 'All of this is hard to believe,' she said.
It appeared to be Italy's 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.
It is the latest episode to raise questions about the quality of Italy's transport infrastructure. In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.
One person who saw the crash told MailOnline: 'It was a very steep drop, so the cable car tumbled for a while before stopping against some trees.
'The police (and others) are at the scene of the incident and are trying to identify the people. It is a devastating morning for all of us.'
According to newspaper Corriere Della Serra, two children have been taken by air ambulance to hospital in Turin.
The youngest child, a boy, suffered head trauma, thoracoabdominal trauma and lower limb fractures but is still conscious, according to Sky Italia.
Corriere Della Serra said that rescue efforts have been made more difficult by the fact that the cabin fell into a wood in an inaccessible area. The Italian fire service, emergency crews are currently working at the area.
They tweeted: 'A cabin of the cable car connecting Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone fell. There are people dead, the toll is provisional.
'Teams #vigilidelfuoco at work. On the spot the helicopter of the Varese flight department'.
The incident comes 20 years after 40 tourists had to be rescued after a cable car got stuck on the line in 2001. The tourists had to be rescued after the cable car stopped shortly after leaving the terminal in Stresa.
The Mottarone cable car was opened in 1970. It reaches a height of 4,900ft and takes tourists from the town of Stresa, to the top of the mountain, in 20 minutes.
