9 Dead, 2 Children Injured in Cable Car Crash in Italy

Nine people died and two children were seriously injured on Sunday as a cable car plunged to the ground in Italy.

“This is the final toll of the accident as the car was carrying 11 passengers when the disaster happened,” Simone Bobbio, a spokesman for Italy’s alpine rescue service for the Piedmont region, told Reuters.

The two children, both reportedly under 10, had been transported by helicopter to a pediatric hospital in the nearby northern city of Turin, Walter Milan, another spokesman for the national alpine rescue service told RaiNews24 television.

Bobbio said the cable car cabin plunged close to the second last pillar as it was moving up the mountain, adding that there were still no details about the nationality or ages of the victims.

A call to rescue services came just after midday (1000 GMT), Milan mentioned, noting that the cable car had fallen from a very high point and was now “crumpled” in the woods below.

The Stresa-Mottarone cable car carries tourists and local people from the town of Stresa on Lake Maggiore, almost 1,400 metres above sea level, to the top of the Mottarone mountain.

Notably, the Stresa-Mottarone lift had only recently re-opened following the gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions.

In addition, the Mottarone peak is popular among tourists because of its panoramic views on Lake Maggiore and its picturesque islands as well as the vista of the surrounding Alps.