FATAL PLUNGE
Two Brit tourists among 4 killed after cable car wire ‘snapped’ on line that reopened days ago following safety checks
Footage shows how each person had to be evacuated one-by-one via harnesses
TWO Brit tourists are among four people dead after a horror cable car crash in Italy — just days after the line reopened for the season.
The tragedy struck near the summit of Mount Faito - just 30 miles from Naples - after a traction cable snapped and sent the cabin plummeting to the ground.
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A British couple, an Israeli woman and a cable car operator died, and a second Israeli tourist has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition, according to La Repubblica.
Italian authorities have identified one of the Brits as Margaret Elaine Winn, 58, but have not named the second - a man who is believed to be her husband.
The Israeli woman was identified as 25-year-old Janan Suliman.
Italian cable car operator Carmine Parlato, 59, was also among those killed.
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Umberto De Gregorio, the chairman of cable car company Ente Autonomy Volturno, said he was "devoted to the cable car as though it was his own home".
The cable car route — which connects the town of Castellammare di Stabia to the top of the 3,600ft mountain — had reopened only 10 days ago for the summer.
De Gregorio said the line underwent “three months of tests every day, day and night.”
He said checks were carried out “with the conditions, with all the x-rays that are done on the cables by the director of operations who is a very capable young engineer”.
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De Gregorio described the crash as “something inexplicable” and promised “maximum collaboration to the authorities carrying out the investigations”.
He added that the company would launch its own internal inquiry, bringing in “high-profile professionals”, and stressed: “All hypotheses must be analysed: human error, exceptional event and even more.”
Prosecutors have now launched a full probe into the tragedy, reports.
Investigators are focusing on what caused the traction cable to snap, why the emergency brake failed, and whether stormy weather should have halted operations.
Italy's national rail and transport agency, Ansfisa, confirmed the line was also inspected in March 2024 and deemed safe to operate - with official reports signed off by the operations director.
Rescue teams, including more than 50 firefighters, raced to the town of Castellammare di Stabia after the accident - working through the night in thick fog and stormy weather.
Shocking images of the aftermath showed the wreckage of the cable car buried beneath trees with the door snapped off.
Vincenzo De Luca, president of the Campania region, confirmed three tourists and a cable car operator had been killed.
Other passengers had to be evacuated from a nearby cabin that had been forced to stop.
Footage shows how each person had to be evacuated one-by-one via harnesses.
The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia said investigations suggested a traction cable snapped on the cable line.
He told Italian media: "The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the the top of the hill."
Local media first reported that a cable car had broken down and left two cabins suspended in the air at around 4.30pm.
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Rescue operations were launched - with tourists in these cars safely freed.
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is "monitoring the situation following an incident in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities".
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims, her office said.
The cable car has been operating since 1952 and a similar accident in 1960 also left four dead.
In May 2021, a cable car crashed in the Alps near Lake Maggiore, killing 14 people.
In 1998, a US fighter jet flying a low level on a training flight cut a steel cable and 20 people in a cable car in the Dolomites were killed.
In Turkey last year, another cable car accident left one person dead after a mid air collision.
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Hundreds of emergency teams arrived to the popular resort to rescue petrified holidaymakers who were stranded in the air after one of the cars smashed into a pole.
Ten others were also injured - including two children.
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