Four
people died and one was seriously injured after a cable car crashed on Mt.
Faito, near Naples. A snapped cable is suspected.
.jpg "Wreckage of Mt. Faito Cable Car Crash in Southern Italy")
Rome,
Italy – Four people were killed and one other seriously injured on Thursday
after a cable car crashed to the ground on Monte Faito, a mountain located
approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Naples, according to
Italy’s mountain rescue service and firefighters.
The
accident occurred around midday, as the cable car cabin plummeted to the ground
near the upper station of the Mt. Faito cable car, a popular tourist route
offering panoramic views of the Bay of Naples.
Emergency
crews rushed to the scene, with images showing rescuers surrounding the wrecked
gondola amid the rocky terrain.
“The
cabin at the top has crashed,” confirmed Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of EAV,
the public transportation company that operates the cable car service. “It’s a
tragedy.”
Preliminary
reports from several Italian news outlets suggest that one of the supporting
cables may have snapped, causing the cabin to fall. Investigations into the
precise cause of the incident are ongoing.
The cable
car connects Castellammare di Stabia with Monte Faito and is frequently used by
tourists and locals alike to access the scenic summit. The service had only
recently resumed seasonal operations after winter maintenance.
This
incident echoes the devastating 2021 Stresa–Mottarone cable car disaster, also
in Italy, which claimed 14 lives, raising renewed concerns over the safety and
oversight of mountain cable transport systems in the country.
Officials
have not yet released the identities of the victims. The seriously injured individual
was airlifted to a nearby hospital and remains in critical condition.
Authorities
have suspended all cable car services in the region pending safety inspections.