Several people were killed in a cable car accident in northern Italy.
As the mountain rescue announced, there were also several injuries in the crash of a gondola on Sunday west of Lake Maggiore in the Piedmont region.
The death toll has now risen to twelve.
The mountain rescue announced on Sunday the German press agency on request.
A photo by the fire brigade showed the crashed cabin in a forest.
According to mountain rescue, two helicopters were in use.
According to the agency reports, two children in critical condition were flown to a Turin clinic.
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, the cabin crash was probably caused by a cable tear in the uppermost part of the route.
Accordingly, the cable car was overhauled from 2014 to 2016.
According to media reports, the President of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, immediately set off for the disaster area. Infrastructure Minister Enrico Giovannini wanted to travel to the area on Monday. Liguria's regional president Giovanni Toti expressed his condolences to the people of Piedmont. The tragedy puts you in mourning - on a Sunday that should actually stand for hope, wrote EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni on Twitter. The party leader of the right-wing Lega party, Matteo Salvini, wrote that there are no words for it.
The accident occurred around 300 meters from the summit. The cable cars in Italy have only been allowed to start operating again since Saturday. This was recently decided by Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government in the course of easing the corona restrictions. Italy wants to gradually relax the corona restrictions. The tourist season should start in June. Most recently, the night curfew was shortened and outdoor dining was opened.
The cable car, popular with tourists, connects the holiday resort of Stresa on Lake Maggiore with the almost 1,500 meter high mountain, which offers a spectacular view of the Alps, in 20 minutes. “In twenty minutes from the lake to the mountain”, that's what the Funivia Stresa-Alpino-Mottarone cable car advertises on its website. The panorama on the summit is said to be one of the most beautiful. In winter, ski athletes come to the area. Many hikers are out there in summer.