Fourteen Dead In Italy Cable Car Crash

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – At least 14 people have died, including one of two children rushed to hospital after a cable car crashed to the ground in Verbania, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, officials say.

The disaster came as the country slowly opened up to tourism after one of Europe’s toughest coronavirus lockdowns, and the disaster overshadowed celebrations of the nation’s Eurovision Song Contest victory late Saturday.

Footage of the scene of the wreckage showed the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car. It was located in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore.

The Stresa Mottarone cable car takes tourists and locals from the town of Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, up almost 1,400 meters (4,593 feet) above sea level to the top of the Mottarone mountain in 20 minutes.

Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino told media that it appeared a cable broke, sending the car careening until it hit a pylon and then fell to the ground. At that point, the car overturned “two or three times before hitting some trees,”she said. Some of those who died were thrown from the cabin. “It was a terrible, terrible scene,” Severino told Italy’s SkyTG24 broadcaster.

She said that in addition to the two children, a third person was injured.

The cable car that broke carried more than a dozen people, and two children were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the northern city of Turin, officials confirmed. The national alpine rescue service said several rescue teams were on the site. “Two helicopter ambulances intervened.”

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. But the tragedy underscored concerns about the safety and quality of Italy’s transport infrastructure. There have been several episodes linked to neglect. In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.

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