Latest news with #ElaineWinn
The Independent
20-04-2025
- The Independent
All four victims of Naples cable car crash identified
Graeme and Elaine Winn, a British couple from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, were among four killed in a cable car crash south of Naples in Italy. The couple, aged 65 and 58 respectively, were enjoying their retirement and touring Europe on motorbikes. The cable car plunged 3,400 feet after a traction cable snapped, killing two others, including the Italian driver, named in local media as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato and an Israeli citizen, Janan Suliman. A fifth passenger, said to be Suliman's brother, is in critical but stable condition. An investigation into possible manslaughter has been launched, focusing on the cable car's safety mechanisms and maintenance.
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.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Pictured: British couple killed in Naples cable car crash
A British couple killed in a cable car accident in Italy had been spending their retirement on motorcycle tours abroad, friends said as the pair were pictured for the first time. Graeme and Elaine Winn died along with two others when their cable car fell 100ft into a mountainside overlooking the bay of Naples after steel cables snapped. The accident happened at the top of an almost two-mile route connecting the seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia, near the Amalfi Coast, with the nearby Monte Faito mountain. Carmine Parlato, 58, an Italian who worked on the cable car route, and Janan Suliman, 25, a tourist from Israel, were also killed. Thabet Suliman, 30, Ms Suliman's brother, survived but broke both his legs and suffered other serious injuries. The holidaymakers and the cabin's driver are said to have been only 20 seconds away from reaching the top terminal. Prosecutors in the Torre Annunziata region have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter charges after the crash, which happened around 28 miles (45km) south-east of Naples. Neighbours of the couple, who were from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, said they had been planning to spend a week away in Italy. Ms Win, 58, was a school business manager at Welland Park Academy, a secondary school in Harborough. Mr Winn, 64, is believed to have been an IT consultant for secondary schools before retiring in September 2017. The couple were keen motorcyclists and had toured all over Europe. They moved to Market Harborough in 2017, relocating from Rayleigh, Essex, and both had two children from previous marriages. One neighbour said: 'They were lovely, lovely people and it is very sad. Graeme has retired and he and Elaine enjoyed going on holidays. They told me they were off to Italy for a week and were so excited. They had spent Christmas away, I think in Turkey.' Another said: 'He was really into his motorbikes, and he was always tinkering around with them and fixing his or someone else's. There is an elderly neighbour across the road, and Graeme would keep an eye out for him. 'They had grandchildren, who had only been up to visit the other weekend. When I saw on the BBC website that they had died in the accident I was in disbelief and very saddened. They would be missed around here. It is a pleasant close knit neighbourhood.' Chris Mann, a friend, wrote in a tribute on Facebook, that they were 'good friends who were enjoying retirement with lots of motorbike tours and holidays.' Another neighbour said: 'They were a very nice couple, and it is so sad that this accident happened. They were both into their motorbikes and liked travelling. It is a terrible irony that they died while out on their latest adventure.' The couple's family declined to comment when contacted by The Telegraph. A Foreign 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.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
19-04-2025
- Telegraph
Pictured: British couple who died in Naples cable car crash
A British couple who were killed in a cable car accident in Italy had been spending their retirement motorcycling abroad, friends said as the pair were pictured for the first time. Graeme and Elaine Winn died along with two others when their cable car fell 100ft into a mountainside overlooking the bay of Naples after steel cables snapped. The accident happened at the top of an almost two-mile route connecting the seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia, near the Amalfi Coast, with the nearby Monte Faito mountain. Carmine Parlato, 58, an Italian who worked on the cable car route, and Janan Suliman, 25, a tourist from Israel, were also killed. Thabet Suliman, 30, Ms Suliman's brother, survived but broke both his legs and suffered other serious injuries. The holidaymakers and the cabin's driver are said to have been only 20 seconds away from reaching the top terminal. Prosecutors in the Torre Annunziata region have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter charges after the crash, which happened around 28 miles (45km) south-east of Naples. Neighbours of the couple, who were from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, said they had been planning to spend a week away in Italy. Ms Win, 58, was a school business manager at Welland Park Academy, a secondary school in Harborough. Mr Winn, 64, is believed to have been an IT consultant for secondary schools before retiring in September 2017. The couple were keen motorcyclists and had toured all over Europe. They moved to Market Harborough in 2017, relocating from Rayleigh, Essex, and both had two children from previous marriages. One neighbour said: 'They were lovely, lovely people and it is very sad. Graeme has retired and he and Elaine enjoyed going on holidays. They told me they were off to Italy for a week and were so excited. They had spent Christmas away, I think in Turkey.' Another said: 'He was really into his motorbikes, and he was always tinkering around with them and fixing his or someone else's. There is an elderly neighbour across the road, and Graeme would keep an eye out for him. 'They had grandchildren, who had only been up to visit the other weekend. When I saw on the BBC website that they had died in the accident I was in disbelief and very saddened. They would be missed around here. It is a pleasant close knit neighbourhood.' Chris Mann, a friend, wrote in a tribute on Facebook that the couple had been 'good friends, who were enjoying retirement with lots of motorbike tours and holidays.' Another neighbour said: 'They were a very nice couple, and it is so sad that this accident happened. They were both into their motorbikes and liked travelling. It is a terrible irony that they died while out on their latest adventure.' The couple's family declined to comment when contacted by The Telegraph. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities.'
The Independent
19-04-2025
- The Independent
Pictured: British couple killed in Naples cable car crash were ‘enjoying retirement'
Tributes have been paid to an 'adventurous' British couple who were killed when their cable car plunged into a ravine south of Naples. Graeme Winn, 65, and his wife Elaine Winn, 58, from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, were enjoying their retirement and exploring Europe on motorbikes, according to friends. Their cable car plummeted 3,400 feet at 'maximum speed' just seconds away from landing at Monte Faito after one of the traction cables supporting it snapped on Thursday afternoon, according to reports. One friend posted on Facebook: 'Just heard the tragic news that the couple who died in the Italian cable car crash were Graeme and Elaine Winn. 'Good friends who were enjoying retirement with lots of motorbike tours and holidays. How incredibly sad.' Another wrote: 'Shocked to the core. We met Graeme and Elaine in Split a few years back, a lovely couple. I can't believe it.' The couple had married five years ago just after moving to the East Midlands from Essex. Neighbours said Graeme was regularly spotted fixing his motorbike in his drive and Elaine was seen walking to work as a receptionist at a local secondary school. Their neighbour told The Sun: "Graeme was always out in the driveway tinkering with his bike, which he loved doing. "He had been retired for a while and wanted to see the world. They had been away over Christmas in Turkey and really enjoyed going on adventures together. "It's just so horrible for their family and friends." 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." Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP for Rutland, Stamford, added to the flood of tributes for the couple. She said: 'Such deeply sad news. 'My heart goes out to anyone who loved and knew Graeme and Elaine Winn from Market Harborough.' Janan Suliman, an Israeli citizen, was the third foreign victim to be identified, by local outlets. The fourth victim was the Italian driver of the cable car named in Italian media as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato. A fifth tourist, said to be the brother of the Israeli victim, is in a stable but critical condition at a Naples hospital after being found in foggy and windy conditions. Initial reports suggested that a traction cable may have snapped as the cable car ascended Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia. 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. 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. Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, said on Thursday: "The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station.' He added there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs 1.8 miles from the town to the top of the mountain.
