Three tourists among 4 killed after Italian cable car crashes into a ravine south of Naples
An Arab woman with Israeli citizenship was the third foreign victim to be identified following Thursday's accident, said Marco De Rosa, a spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense.
The fourth victim was the Italian driver of the cable car. A fifth tourist, said to be the brother of the Israeli victim, is in a stable but critical condition at a Naples hospital, officials said.
Initial reports suggested that a traction cable may have snapped as the cable car ascended Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia. The cable car plunged into a ravine after stopping very close to the station at the top of the peak, at around 1,050 meters (3,400 feet).
Sixteen passengers were helped out of another cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.
The accident happened just a week after the cable car, which is popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season. It averages around 110,000 visitors each year.
The emergency services, including Italy's alpine rescue, more than 50 firefighters, police and civil protection personnel, worked into the evening in severe weather conditions, with fog and strong winds making rescue operations difficult.
'The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station,' Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, said on Thursday. He added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the town to the top of the mountain.
Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter, which will involve an inspection of the cable stations, the pylons, the two cabins and the cable, officials said Friday.
The company running the service, the EAV public transport firm, said the seasonal cable car had reopened with all the required safety conditions.
'The reopening had taken place a week ago after three months of tests every day, day and night,' said EAV President Umberto De Gregorio. 'This is something inexplicable.'
De Gregorio said technical experts believed there was no connection between the severe weather and the cause of the crash. 'There is an automatic system. When the wind exceeds a certain level, the cable car stops automatically,' he said.
The Monte Faito cable car opened in 1952. Four people died in 1960 when a pylon broke.
Italy has recorded two similar fatal accidents involving cable cars in recent years.
A cable car crash in May 2021 in northern Italy killed 14 people, including six Israelis, among them a family of four. In 1998, a low-flying US military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Riot police block pro-Palestine protesters from approaching Israeli cruise ship in Greece
ATHENS — Riot police at Greece's largest port cordoned off an area around an Israeli cruise ship that arrived early on Thursday to prevent several hundred protesters from approaching the vessel. Protests have been held at Greek islands and mainland ports along the route of the Crown Iris, several of which have led to clashes with police. At the port of Piraeus near Athens demonstrators held flares and waved Palestinian flags behind a cordon formed with riot police buses. Protest organisers, citing online posts from travellers, said off-duty Israeli soldiers were among the passengers. "They are unwanted here and have no business being here," protest organiser Markos Bekris said. "The blood of innocent people is on their hands and we should not welcome them." Greece is a popular holiday destination for Israelis. But the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and global attention about the widespread destruction and severe food shortages have triggered hundreds of anti-Israel protests in Athens and other Greek cities, as well as a political confrontation. Left-wing opposition parties are calling on the conservative government to halt commercial and broad military cooperation with Israel. Demonstrations against Israel's military offensive in Gaza erupted in the city of Volos on Wednesday after the Crown Iris docked there. Local communities unfurled huge Palestinian flags and chanted pro-Palestine slogans as Israeli tourists disembarked from the cruise ship. Last month, the Crown Iris left the Greek island of Syros early without its passengers disembarking after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island's port. There have been similar protests at other stops on the Crown Iris' route such as in Rhodes and Crete. However, not all Greeks are on board with the demonstrations, including the country's Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. "We owe an apology to these friends of Greece who chose to spend their holidays here and were forcibly denied it by some," he wrote on X last month following the incident in Syros. "Our country remains hospitable to all and antisemitism has no place here!" — Euronews
Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Fresh protest against Gaza war erupts in Greece over arrival of Israeli cruise ship
ATHENS — Fresh demonstrations against Israel's military offensive in Gaza erupted in Greece on Wednesday, with protesters clashing with police as an Israeli cruise ship docked in the port city of Volos. There have been several protests at various Greek ports in recent weeks against the Crown Iris cruise ship, which is operated by Israeli shipping giant Mano Maritime and is currently touring around Greece. Local communities unfurled huge Palestinian flags and chanted pro-Palestine slogans as Israeli tourists disembarked from the cruise ship. In the coastal city of Volos, located some 330 kilometres north of Athens, demonstrators protesting the arrival of the Crown Iris were dispersed by riot police using stun grenades. The Israeli tourists were still able to disembark the ship and board buses for tours of nearby Mount Pilio and the Meteora monastery complex in Thessaly, local media reported. Meanwhile, the protesters left the port and continued their pro-Palestine march through the main streets of the city. Last month, the Crown Iris left the Greek island of Syros early without its passengers disembarking after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island's port."It is unacceptable that tourists from Israel continue to be welcomed here while the Palestinians are suffering in the [Gaza] Strip," the protesters said on social some Greeks have denounced the protests, including the country's Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis."We owe an apology to these friends of Greece who chose to spend their holidays here and were forcibly denied it by some," he wrote on X last month following the incident in Syros. "Our country remains hospitable to all and antisemitism has no place here!"Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the Syros incident. Israel has reportedly stressed to Greece that the protests against the Crown Iris could end up harming Israeli tourism in the is a popular tourist destination for Israelis on package tours and travelling independently, particularly in the summer months, and there are several flights per day between Tel Aviv and Athens, as well as from Israeli airports directly to Greek islands. — Euronews
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Why Gulf tourists are flocking to this Polish mountain town
Saudi photographer Fahad Alayyash gazed over the Alpine-like panorama of the Tatras, Poland's highest mountain range -- and a surprising new hotspot for Arab tourists. The 38-year-old is among thousands of Gulf residents spending their summer vacation in Zakopane, a resort known for its ski lifts and hiking trails, where historic wooden houses mix with modern hotels. 'We've completely taken over the place,' Alayyash said while standing on Gubalowka, a peak overlooking Zakopane, where dozens of visitors drink coffee, shop for souvenirs and enjoy the view. Zakopane, located in southern Poland, has become a major summer draw for holidaymakers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with up to seven daily flights from the region at nearby Krakow Airport. The boom started with a Saudi travel agency representative, said Agata Wojtowicz, head of the Tatra chamber of commerce. She said the official came to Zakopane to scout for a new destination with a direct connection to the Gulf and 'was astonished' by the town. Flydubai launched the first Dubai-Krakow connection in 2018 and Emiratis are now coming in droves -- helped by their visa-free access to the European Union. Last year they were Poland's fastest-growing tourist group, according to the tourism ministry, with numbers 66 percent higher than in 2023. Manal Alanazy, a 45-year-old educational technology professor at King Saud University, said Zakopane is well-known among Saudis. 'When I told my dad and my brother that I'm going to Poland, my brother didn't like it. He said: 'It's all Gulf people there,'' she told AFP. Social media effect Zakopane uses social media to attract Gulf tourists who have created 'a snowball effect' of growing interest, said Wojtowicz. Over the past three years, Arab influencers have been invited on promotional visits, according to Grzegorz Biedron, chairman of its tourism organization. Both Alanazy and Abdullah Alotaibi, a 30-year-old Kuwaiti ship captain, learnt about Zakopane from X. 'I saw on Twitter (X) a thread about Zakopane, and how it treats all people the same, and there is no racism about religions, so I liked it and I came,' said Alotaibi. Arab tourists cite the feeling of safety as one of Zakopane's key assets. 'It was dark, and I was walking... I'm like, 'You're not in Poland, you're in one of the Gulf countries. Just look. Nothing will happen,'' said Alanazy. 'Halal menu' For Zakopane's business owners, the Gulf clientele has been a blessing. 'This year, around two-thirds are Arabs,' Anna Stoch-El Einen, who owns a kebab restaurant and souvenir shop, said of her customers. 'We have very few Polish tourists in the region, perhaps because of the weather,' she added. The hospitality industry has adapted fast to the preferences of Middle East visitors. Stoch-El Einen offers menus in Polish and Arabic and has a 'halal' certificate displayed over the counter. 'We also make sure that we have a halal menu,' said Wiktor Wrobel, CEO of the region's Nosalowy hotel group. Arab customers constitute up to 30 percent of all summer guests at his five-star hotel in Zakopane. City mayor Lukasz Filipowicz told AFP 'local entrepreneurs are very happy about the presence of tourists from the Middle East.' He said the biggest challenge was the difference in driving cultures, with visitors often breaking parking and entry laws. 'Every municipal police patrol is equipped with a handbook in Arabic... so that tourists from the Middle East can understand and comply with the applicable regulations,' Filipowicz said. 'Weather is perfect' The day is rainy, but the drizzle did not deter Gulf visitors escaping the infernal summer heat in their home region. Temperatures sometimes top 50C in the Gulf, whereas Polish summers are generally mild. Alanazy initially wanted to vacation in Paris. 'I cancelled because the heatwave hit the European countries,' she told AFP, adding that 'the weather is perfect' in Zakopane. Wrobel said climate change is a reason behind the surge in Zakopane's popularity. 'The respite that visitors from Arab countries are looking for cannot be found in Italy or Spain, where temperatures have also risen significantly,' he told AFP.
