Italian cable car accident injures four people, 100 evacuated from mountain

ROME, Dec 30 (Reuters) - At least four people were injured and helicopters helped to bring around 100 others to safety on Tuesday after a cable car accident on a mountain in northwest Italy, local authorities said.

The accident happened when two cabins collided with the upper and lower stations of the installation which is close to the village of Macugnaga in the Piedmont region, the Italian fire service said. 

Three passengers in the upper cabin were hurt, along with the cable car operator at ground level, it added. Other Italian media said six people had needed medical treatment.

The nearby ski slopes were closed off after the incident.

Filippo Besozzi, managing director of lift operator Macugnaga Trasporti e Servizi, told ANSA news agency that one of the cabins had apparently failed to slow down as expected and hit a station barrier.

"Fortunately there are no serious injuries, no one's life is in danger," he added.

The cable car service had been halted after the accident, leaving the group of around 100 including children and foreign tourists stranded for a time at the upper station on the Monte Moro mountain at an altitude of around 2,800 metres, Italian media reported.

Italian broadcaster RAI said the installation had been built in 1962 and had been refurbished two years ago at a cost of 2 million euros ($2.4 million).

Italy has a recent history of serious cable car accidents, most recently in April when four people died near Castellammare di Stabia, 30 kilometres south-east of Naples.

In 2021, 14 people died when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore with a nearby mountain plunged to the ground.

($1 = 0.8503 euros)

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini)