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A cable car accident in northwest Italy on Tuesday left at least four people injured, with helicopters deployed to rescue approximately 100 others, according to local authorities.
The Italian fire service confirmed the incident occurred near the village of Macugnaga in the Piedmont region, when two cabins collided with the cable car’s upper and lower stations.
Among the injured were three passengers from the upper cabin and the ground-level operator. While official reports cited four casualties, other Italian media suggested six individuals required medical attention. Following the collision, nearby ski slopes were promptly closed.
Filippo Besozzi, managing director of lift operator Macugnaga Trasporti e Servizi, told ANSA news agency that one of the cabins had apparently failed to slow down as expected and hit a station barrier.
“Fortunately there are no serious injuries, no one’s life is in danger,” he added.
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The cable car of Macugnaga in the winter (Getty/iStock)
The cable car service had been halted after the accident, leaving the group of around 100 including children and foreign tourists stranded for a time at the upper station on the Monte Moro mountain at an altitude of around 2,800 metres, Italian media reported.
Italian broadcaster RAI said the installation had been built in 1962 and had been refurbished two years ago at a cost of 2 million euros ($2.4 million).
Italy has a recent history of serious cable car accidents, most recently in April when four people died near Castellammare di Stabia, 30 kilometres south-east of Naples.
In 2021, 14 people died when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain plunged to the ground.
($1 = 0.8503 euros)