Four dead and one seriously injured when a cable car cabin collapsed in Naples.

Four people died and one was seriously injured in a cable car accident that occurred this Thursday in Castellammare di Stabia, Naples. The accident occurred when the cable car broke, causing two cabins to dangle in the air. Sixteen people were on board, mostly tourists, but also cable car workers. Before rescue teams could access the cable car, one of the two cabins, the one dangling closest to the summit, collapsed completely and fell to its void. Three people were initially confirmed dead, but rescue teams later found the body of one of the missing passengers. The four fatalities are three tourists and the driver.

The accident occurred at 3:00 p.m. A malfunction stopped both cabins, both the one traveling uphill and the one traveling downhill. The eleven people traveling in the ascending cabin were able to get down using safety ropes and harnesses. However, the five people in the other cabin were unable to make it. In the second cabin, which had begun its descent, were four tourists and a cable car operator. They were suspended in the air for hours. The situation became even more distressing as fog rose, making the cabin invisible from the ground. Finally, the cable gave way and the cabin fell into a ravine.

The Castellammare di Stabia cable car opened in 1952 and operates during the summer months. It had only been back in service for a week after the winter shutdown. This is the second fatal accident involving this cable car, although it goes back many decades. In 1960, it suffered an accident that killed four people.