A cable car that took visitors to the maximum sensitivity of a mountain in some of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes fell to the ground on Sunday and then rolled down the slope, killing 14 people. serious condition with damaged bones, the government said.
Six of the dead were Israeli citizens, adding a circle of relatives out of 4 living in Italy, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said. It’s not transparent if the other couple was related.
The mayor of Stresa, where the incident occurred, said he gave the impression that a cable had been broken, prompting the car to graze to crash into a tower and fall to the ground. At that point, the car flipped “two or three times before. “hitting trees, ” said Mayor Marcella Severino. Some of those who died were cast out of the hut.
The Italian government has announced a commission of inquiry into the disaster, which is likely to renew questions about the quality and protection of Italy’s transport infrastructure.
The images showed the wrinkled car in a clearing of a thick pine plate near the most sensitive Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore. The car reportedly fell about 50 feet (15 meters) down, according to Italian media.
“It’s a dreadful and dreadful scene,” Severino told Italian SkyTG24.
The dive on the Stresa-Mottarone line occurred about a hundred meters before the last pylon, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Italian Alpine Rescue Service.
On Sunday night, the death toll had risen to 14 after one of the two young men transferred to The Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital in Turin died after several attempts to restart the centre and “there was nothing left to do,” the hospital spokesman said. Pier Paolo Berra, the other young man, who arrived consciously at the hospital, was still in serious condition, the government said.
Milan noted that the cable line had been renewed in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus locks in Italy were reduced and forced the suspension of many recreational activities. Milan warned that many families would have flocked to the mountain on a sunny Sunday after months of restrictions. .
The line is with tourists and locals to climb Mottarone, which reaches a height of 1491 meters (4900 feet) and dominates several picturesque lakes and the surrounding Alps of the Italian Piedmont region.
The mountain houses a small amusement park, Alpyland, with a roller coaster for children, and the domain also has trails and mountain biking.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi presented his condolences to the families of those affected “with a special idea for seriously injured youth and their families. “
Sunday’s tragedy appears to be the worst cable car crisis in Italy since 1998, when a low-altitude U. S. army plane cut off the cable of an elevator in Cavalese, Dolomites, killing 20 people.
Italian Transport Minister Enrico Giovannini announced a commission to read about the tragedy and said he had already asked for knowledge about maintenance paintings and inspections carried out on the line in the past. I was planning to visit the place on Monday.
Although the cause has not been determined, the crisis is likely to raise questions about Italy’s maritime infrastructure. In 2018, the Morandi Bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.
In 2009, a derailed fuel loading exercise at Viareggio station near Lucca and exploded, killing 32 people. The poorly maintained axes of the exercise were blamed.
President Sergio Mattarella, in presenting his condolences, for the “rigorous compliance with all the rules of protection” in transport.