14 killed in cable car accident after cable snapped 5-year-old sole survivor

 

A cable transporting passengers from the resort town of Stresa up the nearby Mottarone mountain in the region of Pidemont, Northern Italy, fell on a mountain near Lake  Maggiore after the cable failed about  894ft (300km) from the top of the mountain, Killing 14 people at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST) on Sunday.  According to Alpine rescue officials two children aged five and nine who were seriously injured were taken by helicopter to a Turin Hospital. 

The nine-year-old succumbed to her injuries and five-year-old  was undergoing surgery for multiple fractures according to the hospital.

Five-year-old Eitan Biran, an Israeli boy living in Italy, was named as the sole survivor of the cable car tragedy, whose parents, younger borther and great-grandparents were killed.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, described the crash as a “tragic accident” and said he was receiving updates from the minister of infrastructure and transport, as well as local officials.

According to the Stresa-Alpine-Mottarone service website, it usually takes 20 minutes to transport 40 passengers 1, 491m above the sea level.

The cable car originally opened in 1970 and was closed for maintenance between 2014 and 2016.