Four injured, 100 stranded after cable car accident in north-west Italy

Rome: Four people were injured and around 100 others were stranded on a mountain in north-west Italy on Tuesday after a cable car accident, authorities said.

The incident occurred on the Macugnaga cable car, which travels to the Moro Pass at an altitude of 2,800 metres near the Swiss border. Alpine rescue services said no one was seriously injured.

“It appears that the cabin reached the top station at excessive speed, which caused the accident,” the rescue service said in a statement.

The fire service said the accident involved two cabins, which struck structures at both the upper and lower stations. Three of the 15 passengers in the upper cabin were injured, while an operator at the lower station also sustained injuries.

Around 100 people were left stranded on the mountain following the crash, which occurred at about 11.30am local time. All were evacuated by helicopter approximately three hours later.

Filippo Besozzi, administrator of the company that operates the cable car, told ANSA that the most seriously injured person was a 59-year-old man who suffered a wound to his arm. He said a “technical problem” prevented the cabin from slowing down properly as it entered the station, causing it to hit a barrier.

Besozzi added that there was no significant damage to the cable car, which was renovated in 2023, but checks were under way.

The accident took place during the peak ski season, when large numbers of Italians and tourists visit mountain resorts over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Italy has previously seen deadly cable car accidents. In May 2021, 14 people were killed when a cable snapped on the Mottarone mountain overlooking Lake Maggiore. Only a five-year-old Israeli boy survived that incident.