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Gulf Today
20-04-2025
- Gulf Today
Four killed as cable car plunges into a ravine in Italy
Three tourists, including a British couple, were among four people who were killed when a mountain cable car plunged into a ravine south of Naples, officials confirmed Saturday. Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that it is "supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.' On Friday, a day after the accident, a spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense had said that the pair were siblings, but confirmed Saturday that that was based on bad information. An Arab woman with Israeli citizenship was the third foreign victim to be identified following Thursday's accident. Rescuers reach for the smashed gondola of the Mt. Faito cable car near Naples in southern Italy. AP 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. View of the Monte Faito cable car departure station in Castellammare di Stabia near Naples, southern Italy, Friday. AP 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. Associated Press
The Independent
19-04-2025
- The Independent
British couple died after ‘cable car brakes failed 20 seconds from top'
A British couple died after a cable car wire in southern Italy snapped and the brakes failed when they were 20 seconds away from arriving at the top, it is believed. Graeme Winn, 65, and Elaine Winn, 58, were among the four people who died in the crash on Thursday at Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia near Naples, according to a spokesman for the local mayor's office. The couple, from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, were part of a local bikers group and visiting the country as tourists, it is understood. An Israeli national and the Italian driver of the cable car also died and a fifth person was seriously injured in the incident, it was reported. A spokesman for Luigi Vicinanza Sindaco, the mayor of Castellammare, told the PA news agency: 'The cable car that was descending and entering the station at the bottom stopped and the brakes switched on because there was something that wasn't working so it triggered the safety systems and it stopped. 'We are hypothesising that as the cable cars were moving at the same time. The one at the top was meant to arrive, (it) was around 20 to 25 seconds from the entrance of the station at the top, except the wire broke and the brake did not work because the cabin started to move backwards as it was on a slope. 'It went backwards and ended up on a pylon and it fell. 'It didn't fall perpendicular at 25 metres, it went a lot further back. 'The first thing that would've happened is that the wire snapped and then the brakes didn't work. 'At the moment it's all a hypothesis that the wire snapped and the brakes system did not start.' Ten people had to be taken down from the other cable car, the spokesman said. An investigation over multiple manslaughter and culpable disaster charges has been opened by Italian prosecutors, according to reports The mayor said on Facebook there will be a day of mourning and all events for the Easter holiday cancelled. Firefighters, police and Italy's alpine rescue were sent to the scene, which is between the popular tourist areas of Pompeii and Sorrento. The EAV public transport firm, which runs the cable car, said the service had reopened a week ago with all required safety conditions. Checks were being carried out by investigators on the cable car and the possibility that strong wind was among the causes of the incident. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences from Washington DC, where she was meeting US President Donald Trump. A British tourist said she saw people being taken down from one cable car in a harness after the incident. Megan Pacey, 50, from London, was with her husband, James Ross, and their children Hannah, 10, and Luke, eight, when they saw a suspended cable car. She said: 'We were within a minute or two of (the incident) happening. 'They started winching people down from the cable car. We watched the first couple of people come down in a harness and as we left, there was a sense of urgency that had kicked in.' She said she saw flowers and candles on the steps outside the railway station on Friday and emergency services remained at the scene. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-04-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
3 Tourists among 4 Killed after Italian Cable Car Crashes into Ravine South of Naples
Three tourists, including a British couple, were among four people who were killed when a mountain cable car plunged into a ravine south of Naples, officials confirmed Saturday. Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that it is "supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.' On Friday, a day after the accident, a spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense had said that the pair were siblings, but confirmed Saturday that that was based on bad information. An Israeli woman was the third foreign victim to be identified following Thursday's accident. 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, The AP news reported. 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.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
British couple died after ‘cable car brakes failed 20 seconds from top'
A British couple died after a cable car wire in southern Italy snapped and the brakes failed when they were 20 seconds away from arriving at the top, it is believed. Graeme Winn, 65, and Elaine Winn, 58, were among the four people who died in the crash on Thursday at Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia near Naples, according to a spokesman for the local mayor's office. The couple, from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, were part of a local bikers group and visiting the country as tourists, it is understood. An Israeli national and the Italian driver of the cable car also died and a fifth person was seriously injured in the incident, it was reported. A spokesman for Luigi Vicinanza Sindaco, the mayor of Castellammare, told the PA news agency: 'The cable car that was descending and entering the station at the bottom stopped and the brakes switched on because there was something that wasn't working so it triggered the safety systems and it stopped. 'We are hypothesising that as the cable cars were moving at the same time. The one at the top was meant to arrive, (it) was around 20 to 25 seconds from the entrance of the station at the top, except the wire broke and the brake did not work because the cabin started to move backwards as it was on a slope. 'It went backwards and ended up on a pylon and it fell. 'It didn't fall perpendicular at 25 metres, it went a lot further back. 'The first thing that would've happened is that the wire snapped and then the brakes didn't work. 'At the moment it's all a hypothesis that the wire snapped and the brakes system did not start.' Ten people had to be taken down from the other cable car, the spokesman said. An investigation over multiple manslaughter and culpable disaster charges has been opened by Italian prosecutors, according to reports The mayor said on Facebook there will be a day of mourning and all events for the Easter holiday cancelled. Firefighters, police and Italy's alpine rescue were sent to the scene, which is between the popular tourist areas of Pompeii and Sorrento. The EAV public transport firm, which runs the cable car, said the service had reopened a week ago with all required safety conditions. Checks were being carried out by investigators on the cable car and the possibility that strong wind was among the causes of the incident. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences from Washington DC, where she was meeting US President Donald Trump. A British tourist said she saw people being taken down from one cable car in a harness after the incident. Megan Pacey, 50, from London, was with her husband, James Ross, and their children Hannah, 10, and Luke, eight, when they saw a suspended cable car. She said: 'We were within a minute or two of (the incident) happening. 'They started winching people down from the cable car. We watched the first couple of people come down in a harness and as we left, there was a sense of urgency that had kicked in.' She said she saw flowers and candles on the steps outside the railway station on Friday and emergency services remained at the scene. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.'
The Guardian
19-04-2025
- The Guardian
Foreign Office supporting family of UK couple who died in Italy cable car crash
The UK Foreign Office has said it is supporting the family of a couple who were killed in a cable car crash in Naples. Graeme Winn, 65, and Elaine Winn, 58, were among four people who died on Thursday at Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples in southern Italy. The car that had crashed was ascending the mountain when a traction cable snapped. It brought cable cars to a halt, including another near the foot of the peak that had 16 people onboard, who were evacuated. The other victims were Janan Suliman, a 25-year-old Arab woman with Israeli citizenship. Her brother Thaeb Suliman, 23, was hospitalised in Ponticelli with severe injuries. The fourth person who died was the cable car operator, named locally as Carmine Parlato. Prosecutors in the Torre Annunziata region have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter charges after the crash about 28 miles (45km) south-east of Naples. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.' Italian media reported that one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped. The cable car service, which had opened for the spring and summer season 10 days earlier, underwent a maintenance check a week ago, according to reports on Friday. 'The cabin at the top has crashed,' Umberto De Gregorio, the chair of EAV, the public transport company that runs the cable car service, wrote on Facebook, calling it 'a tragedy'. A British tourist witnessed the evacuation effort from the cable car that was left suspended in the air after the traction cable snapped. Megan Pacey, 50, from London, was with her husband, James Ross, and their children Hannah, 10, and Luke, eight, when they saw the car which had stopped in-mid air. She said: 'We were within a minute or two of [the incident] happening. 'They started winching people down from the cable car. We watched the first couple of people come down in a harness and as we left, there was a sense of urgency that had kicked in.' She said she saw flowers and candles on the steps outside the railway station on Friday and emergency services remained at the scene.
