STRESA, ITALY — Tragedy struck one of the world's most beautiful regions, when a cable car crashed down and rolled near the town of Stresa, in the scenic Piedmont region of north-western Italy. Here are the details:<br /><br />The BBC reports that fifteen people boarded a cable car in the Italian town of Stresa just after midday on Sunday 23 May. <br /><br />This cable car system moves tourists at a relatively high speed, taking only 20 minutes to complete the steep journey from Stresa to a lookout point on mount Mattarone. <br /><br />When the cable car was only 300 meters from the top, it seems that a cable snapped, and the car fell about 20 meters and rolled down the steep slope, before being stopped by trees. <br /><br />Nearby hikers reportedly heard a loud hiss before the crash. <br /><br />Some of those who died were thrown from the car. Of the fifteen passengers, fourteen died while the only survivor is being treated for serious injuries in a nearby hospital. <br /><br />The disaster is likely to renew doubts about Italy's transport infrastructure. <br /><br />In 2018, the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed after years of neglect, killing 43 people. <br /><br />In 2009, a freight train carrying gas derailed and exploded, killing 32 people. That accident was also blamed on poor maintenance.<br /><br />Rescuers faced a crash site on steep and difficult terrain. A fire-service vehicle overturned while responding, but no rescuers were injured. <br /><br />Each cable car can usually hold about 40 passengers. The service had recently reopened following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions.
