Two British tourists are among the four who were killed when a cable car plunged to the ground in southern Italy today, local media are reporting.
The horror unfolded at Monte Faito, a peak around 45 kilometres south-east of Naples.
The third victim is said to be from Israel, while the fourth was the driver of the cable car.
Another Israeli tourist has reportedly been seriously injured, sustaining multiple fractures and requiring an airlift to the Ospedale del Mare hospital in Naples.
Responding to a query from MailOnline, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated: ‘We are closely following the situation following an incident in Italy and are in communication with the local authorities’.
Firefighters and mountain rescue teams are on site, working through the night despite challenges posed by strong winds and dense fog.
The snapped cable brought both the upward and downward-going cable cars to a halt as they as they traversed Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.
The upward cable car eventually crashed, causing the fatalities and injury, while eight tourists and an operator were evacuated from the downward cable car, Naples Prefect Michele de Bari said.
‘The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station,” said Castellammare Mayor Luigi Vicinanza.
Four people have died, one is seriously injured and another is missing after a cable car crashed to the ground in Monte Faito
Two British tourists are believed to be among the four killed
The Monte Faito cable car connects the historic town of Castellammare di Stabia with Monte Faito
‘The cabin at the top has crashed, casualties are feared,’ said Umberto De Gregorio, the chairman of firm Ente Autonomo Volturno, which operates the cable car service.
Footage shared on social media and shown on Italian television showed how 16 survivors were helped out the other cabin and were evacuated one by one, using harnesses.
One particular video showed a tourist being lowered out of the cable car and towards the ground.
‘Four dead bodies were found and a fifth injured person was rescued and taken to hospital,’ a spokesperson for the local fire service said on Telegram.
The Torre Annunziata public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the disaster.
Speaking on the tragic accident, Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi said: ‘I express deep condolences, on behalf of the Metropolitan City of Naples and myself, for the victims of the tragedy that occurred this afternoon due to the collapse of the Faito cable car cabin’.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is currently in Washington attending talks with US President Donald Trump, has also offered her condolences.
In this photo released by the Italian Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps on Thursday, April 17, 2025, rescuers reach for the smashed gondola of the Mt. Faito cable car near Naples in southern Italy
Rescuers on the site where a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples has crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy
Firefighters and mountain rescue teams are currently at the site and have continued to work well into the night
The Torre Annunziata public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the disaster
Around 16 passengers were evacuated, with footage showing how tourists were removed from the cabin one by one using harnesses
The Monte Faito cable car connects the historic town of Castellammare di Stabia with Monte Faito
The horrific accident today happened just a week after the site reopened for the season
The victims are understood to have been foreign tourists
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has expressed her condolences to the families of the victims
A press release issued by the Italian government said: ‘Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is in Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, learned of the tragic accident that occurred today on the Monte Faito cable car and wishes to express, on behalf of the Italian Government and her own, her closeness and deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.’
President Meloni is in contact with the Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci and the Head of the Department Fabio Ciciliano.
The Monte Faito cable car connects the historic town of Castellammare di Stabia with Monte Faito.
The horrific accident happened just a week after the site reopened for the season.
In 2021 in Italy when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain plunged to the ground.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
