A cable car on a mountaintop in northern Italy plunged to the ground over the weekend sending one young child to the hospital and killing at least thirteen other people.
Italy’s fire squad snapped a photograph of the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car where it landed in a thick patch of pine trees close to the summit of Mottarone peak looking over Lake Maggiore.
At that location, the cables of the ski lift were particularly high off the ground, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Alpine rescue service. The cause has not been determined.
Milan noted that the cable line had been renovated in 2016 and had only recently reopened after coronavirus lockdowns forced the closures of ski lifts across Italy.
Mottarone reaches a height of 1,491 meters (4,900 feet) and overlooks the picturesque lake and the surrounding Alps of Italy’s Piedmont region. The mountain features a small amusement park, Alpyland, that has a children’s rollercoaster offering 360-degree views of the scenery.
There are many areas in Italy that feature, skiing, mountain bike paths, and hiking trails that are popular with tourists from all over the world in spring and summer.
