Last Updated on: 23rd May 2021, 10:08 pm
The number of people killed in a cable car accident in northern Italy on Sunday is now 14, officials said.
One group was riding a Stresa-Mottarone cable car connecting the town of Stresa on Lake Maggiore with nearby Mottarone Mountain in Piedmont when it crashed into a wooded area on Sunday morning, According to a spokesman for the National Alpine Speleological Rescue Corps, which leads the rescue operation.
The authorities assume that there were 15 passengers on board the cable car at the time of the crash.
Officials previously said two children were among those who initially survived with injuries.
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“One of the two children who were brought to the Turin hospital by helicopter was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, today is the number of people who have lost their lives today,” tweeted the National Rescue Corps on Sunday evening.
The other child is still in critical condition, according to the rescue team. Italian national firefighters posted a photo of the crash site on social media showing first responders surrounding the mangled cable car near broken trees and cut cables. A fire department spokesman said the death toll could rise.
The accident happened when a cable broke when the car finished the 20-minute drive from the Lido di Stresa square on Lake Maggiore to the Mottarone station, which is about 1,491 meters above sea level on the top of the mountain.
According to the local ANSA media, the cable broke 300 meters from the top of the mountain. The car then crashed in a wooded area with no direct road access. Helicopters lowered alpine rescuers to the crash site and evacuated the victims.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased in a statement on Sunday.
“It was with deep sadness that I heard the news of the tragic accident of the Stresa-Mottarone cable car. I express my condolences to the families of the victims on behalf of the entire government, with a special thought for the seriously injured children and their families,” the statement said.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed his condolences on Twitter and said: “Europe mourns with you”, while the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, said in his own message: “We must clarify the cause of this immediately absurd tragedy.”
