At least 14 people are dead and one child is seriously injured after a cable car in which they were riding plunged to the ground below, a distance of some 20 meters (66 feet), according to Reuters.
Five of those who died are Israelis, according to an updated statement by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which initially reported six deceased.
The Israeli victims were said to include “a couple and one child – all of whom live in Italy – and another elderly couple who apparently live in the country. The couple’s second child is reported in critical condition at a local hospital.
“It is not clear whether there is a connection between the two families,” an Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson said. None of the Israeli victims have yet been identified publicly, due to the necessity of “making sure the families know.”
Two children were airlifted by helicopter to a pediatric hospital in nearby Turin. The older child, around age 10, succumbed to the severity of the wounds after two cardiac arrests, the hospital said. The youngest child, approximately age 5, was conscious upon arrival and spoke Italian. The child was taken into surgery to stabilize multiple fractures.
The Stresa-Mottarone cable car, which links Italy’s Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain, takes tourists and locals from the town on the lake – nearly 1,400 meters above sea level – to the top of Mount Mottarone.
The cable car was traveling up the mountain when its cabin fell to the ground below, rolling down the steep slopes of the mountain before it slammed into trees.
The cable car travels a total distance of about five miles, split between the Stresa–Alpino span, and the Alpino-Mottarone segment, with each car carrying up to 40 passengers. Important maintenance which included replacement of the cables, was carried out in recent years, according to Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino.
The mayor said the accident is believed to have been caused by one of the cables breaking, France24 reported.
Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed condolences to the families of the victims.