Latest news with #UmbertoDeGregorio
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Two British tourists among four killed after cable car crashes to ground in Naples
Two British tourists are believed to be among the four people killed when a cable car's traction cable snapped and the cabin plummeted to the ground in southern Italy. Four tourists and an engineer were on board the cable car when it plunged at 'maximum speed' into woodland in Naples after striking a pylon on Thursday afternoon, triggering a major rescue operation in the face of bad weather and fog. Four people were killed, while a fifth person who was flung from the cabin was evacuated by helicopter in a serious condition, mountain rescue services and firefighters said. The accident happened as the cable car was approaching the Monte Faito landing station, a peak around 45 km (28 miles) south-east of the city offering hikers views of Naples and Vesuvius. 'What happened is an unimaginable and unpredictable tragedy,' said Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company which runs the cable car service, on Facebook. Two of the four people killed after the supporting cable snapped were British nationals on holiday, according to Italian media. Another was a cable car operator from a nearby town, Il Corriere della Sera reported, and the fourth was an Israeli tourist. A second Israeli was injured and in a stable but serious condition, the Naples hospital treating him said on Friday. Vincenzo De Luca, the governor of Campania, told Rainews that the 'two tourist couples' were in the cabin when disaster struck shortly after 3pm along the cableway that connects the city of Castellammare di Stabia in Naples with the summit. The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, Luigi Vicinanza, told reporters: "The traction cable broke, the emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station on the top of Faito.' Another cabin stopped in mid-air near the foot of the mountain, with 16 passengers evacuated one-by-one with harnesses, footage on RAI TV and other media showed. De Luca told RAI that fog and high winds hampered the rescue. The cable car services had just reopened for the spring and summer season ten days previously, Mr De Gregorio said. Local media reported an investigation into the incident has been opened by the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office. Mr De Luca told Rainews during the rescue mission: 'The fog and bad weather are hindering operations but it could have been worse – many human lives were saved. The company told us that maintenance had been done. 'It is likely that the cabin descended at maximum speed and hit the central pylons, now we must do everything we can to help the injured. 'The cable car had been closed for many years, it was reactivated in 2017, and renovation work has been done.' Angelo Lustro, general secretary of the CGIL union said: "We are facing a tragedy that leaves us breathless and speechless.' Confirming the engineer as one of the victims, he added: 'Now is the time for mourning and silence for the victims of this immense and absurd tragedy. Then the time will come to ascertain the causes and who is responsible." Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli expressed his condolences to the victims, saying: 'Monte Faito is a symbolic place. As a guardian of natural beauty to see it today the scene of such a tragedy saddens us deeply. 'Our most sincere thoughts go to the community affected and to all those who are facing the consequences of this tragedy.' In 2021, 14 people died in Italy when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain plunged to the ground.
The Guardian
18-04-2025
- The Guardian
British woman among four killed in Italian cable car crash
A British woman was among four people who died when a cable car crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy on Thursday. Prosecutors in Torre Annunziata have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter after the accident at Monte Faito, a peak about 28 miles (45km) south-east of Naples. Police confirmed that two of the other victims were an Israeli woman and the Italian driver of the cable car. They would not confirm reports in the Italian press that the fourth victim was British. Another man, reported in the Italian press to be Israeli, was hospitalised at in Ponticelli with severe injuries. The hospital said the man, who is intubated and has fractures to his lower limbs, remained 'stable in the seriousness' of his injuries and would undergo further tests on Friday morning. Sixteen passengers were helped out of a cabin that stopped in mid-air near the foot of the mountain. They were evacuated one by one, using harnesses, footage on RAI public television and other media showed. Several Italian media reports said one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped. The cable car service, which had opened for the spring and summer season 10 days previously, last 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'. Vincenzo De Luca, the head of the Campania region around Naples, told RAI that rescue operations were hampered by fog and high winds. The last deadly cable car crash in Italy was in 2021 when 14 people were killed when a cable car linking the resort town of Stresa and the Mottarone mountain in the Piedmont region plummeted into the woods near Lake Maggiore.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Two British nationals among four killed after cable car crashed near Naples, Italian police say
Two Britons have been killed in a cable car crash near Naples, Italian police have said. They were among four people who died in the incident on Thursday, which officials said happened after the cable snapped. The governor of Campania told Sky News the four dead were "two couples of tourists". Rescuers said the only survivor, a middle-aged man, was in a critical condition. Sixteen passengers were helped out of a separate cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident. They were freed one-by-one in a difficult operation using harnesses, footage on RAI television and other media showed. Italy's alpine rescue, along with firefighters, police and civil protection services responded to the incident. It occurred just a week after the cable car, popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season. Read more from Sky News: Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company that runs the cable car service, described the incident as "a tragedy". Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences for the victims and their families and said she was in touch with rescuers. She spoke from Washington, where she was meeting US President Donald Trump.
Times of Oman
18-04-2025
- Times of Oman
Italy: At least 4 dead in cable car accident near Naples
Four people died, one was seriously injured, and another was missing following a cable car crash Thursday near the southern Italian city of Naples, local rescue services and firefighters said. The accident took place at Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia. "The cabin at the top has crashed," said Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company which runs the cable car service. The cable car, from which passengers get views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, had only reopened for the tourist season a week prior. The trip up to the 1,100-meter-high (3,600-foot) mountain normal What do we know about the crash? Several Italian media reports said that one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped while the vehicle was over a steep drop. Rescue operations were being hampered by fog and high winds, Vincenzo De Luca, head of the Campania region around Naples, told RAI public television. Another cable car had been using the same line at the time of the incident, but it was close to the town and all 16 passengers were safely rescued.
Dubai Eye
18-04-2025
- Dubai Eye
At least four dead in Italian cable car accident near Naples
Four people have died and one is seriously injured after a cable car crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy on Thursday. The accident happened at Monte Faito, a peak around 45 km (28 miles) south-east of Naples. "The cabin at the top has crashed," Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company which runs the cable car service, wrote on Facebook, calling it "a tragedy." Several Italian media reports said one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped. Sixteen passengers were helped out of a cabin that stopped in mid-air near the foot of the mountain. They were evacuated one by one, using harnesses, footage on RAI public television and other media showed. Vincenzo De Luca, head of the Campania region around Naples, told RAI that rescue operations were being hampered by fog and high winds. All three of the casualties were tourists, as well as the missing person, he added. In 2021, 14 people died in Italy when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain plunged to the ground.
