Rome, 17 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Four people have died in a cable car crash near the Italian city of Naples. Another passenger suffered serious injuries.

A gondola plunged to the ground after a cable snapped in the town of Castellammare di Stabia, the Italian mountain rescue service said.

The cable car runs up to the 1,100-metre-high Monte Faito peak, which normally offers a view of the Gulf of Naples. Visibility was poor at the time of the accident due to thick fog.

According to initial reports, there were five people in the cable car. The authorities did not initially release any information about the identities of the victims.

More than a dozen other passengers were rescued from other gondolas using ropes. Rescue helicopters were also deployed. The rescue work was hampered by fog.

The cable car has been in operation since 1952. The journey normally takes just under 10 minutes.

There had already been a fatal accident there in 1960. At that time, four people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a gondola crashed.

In the summer of 2021, a gondola carrying 31 passengers was stuck on its way down for more than an hour due to a power failure. No one was injured.

Photo: EPA