{"id":69059,"date":"2021-05-24T19:54:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T19:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=69059"},"modified":"2021-05-24T19:54:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T19:54:41","slug":"italian-cable-car-plunges-to-the-ground-killing-at-least-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=69059","title":{"rendered":"Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"News Desk:<\/strong> A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy\u2019s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground Sunday and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people. The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalized in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Six of the dead were Israeli citizens, including a family of four who lived in Italy, the Israeli foreign ministry said. It wasn\u2019t clear if the other couple was related.<\/p>\n

The mayor of Stresa, where the incident occurred, said it appeared that a cable broke, sending the car careening until it hit a pylon and then fell to the ground. At that point, the car overturned \u201ctwo or three times before hitting some trees,\u201d said Mayor Marcella Severino. Some of those who died were thrown from the cabin.<\/p>\n

The Italian government announced a commission to investigate the disaster, which is likely to renew questions about the quality and safety of Italy\u2019s transport infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Images from the site showed the crumpled car in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore. The car was believed to have fallen around 15 meters (50 feet), according to Italian media.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a terrible, terrible scene,\u201d Severino told Italy\u2019s SkyTG24.<\/p>\n

The plunge on the the Stresa-Mottarone line happened about 100 meters (yards) before the final pylon, said Walter Milan, spokesman for Italy\u2019s Alpine rescue service.<\/p>\n

By Sunday evening, the death toll had risen to 14 dead after one of two children taken to Turin\u2019s Regina Margherita children\u2019s hospital died. The child died after several attempts to restart his heart failed and \u201cthere was nothing more we could do,\u201d said hospital spokesman Pier Paolo Berra. The other young child, who arrived at the hospital conscious, remained in serious condition, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns in Italy curtailed travel and forced the suspension of many leisure activities. Milan suggested many families may have flocked to the mountain on a sunny Sunday after months of restrictions.<\/p>\n

The line is popular with tourists and locals alike to scale Mottarone, which reaches a height of 1,491 meters (4,900 feet) and overlooks several picturesque lakes and the surrounding Alps of Italy\u2019s Piedmont region.<\/p>\n

The mountain hosts a small amusement park, Alpyland, that has a children\u2019s rollercoaster, and the area also has mountain bike paths and hiking trails.<\/p>\n

Premier Mario Draghi offered his condolences to the families of the victims \u201cwith a particular thought about the seriously injured children and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s tragedy appeared to be Italy\u2019s worst cable car disaster since 1998 when a low-flying U.S. military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s transport minister, Enrico Giovannini, announced a commission to look into the tragedy and said he had already requested data on the maintenance work and inspections done on the line in the past. He planned to visit the site Monday.<\/p>\n

While the cause hasn\u2019t been determined, the disaster was likely to raise questions about Italy\u2019s transport infrastructure. In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people.<\/p>\n

In 2009, a freight train carrying gas derailed at the Viareggio station, near Lucca, and exploded, killing 32 people. Poorly maintained axels of the train were blamed.<\/p>\n

President Sergio Mattarella, in offering his condolences, called for the \u201crigorous respect of all security norms\u201d in transportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News Desk: A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy\u2019s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground Sunday and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people. The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalized in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said. Six of the dead were Israeli […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":69060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n