Four dead in cable car crash south of Naples

Four people have died after a mountain cable car cabin crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy, emergency services say.

Another person was “extremely seriously injured” in the crash at Mount Faito and was being airlifted to hospital, officials said.

Italian media outlets reported that one of the cables supporting a cabin higher up the mountain had snapped while the cable car was traversing the valley.

The president of the region, Vincenzo De Luca, said the victims were all tourists.

De Luca added that poor weather conditions including fog, wind and rain were making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the area where the cabin had crashed, at a high altitude.

Italian media had earlier on Thursday reported that the cable car had come to a halt and several people had been rescued from a second cabin which had stopped further down the valley.

The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia – where the cable car was located – said they believed a traction cable had snapped.

“The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the the top of the hill,” he told Italian media.

He added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line.

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