The incident happened on Sunday in the Italian Alps on the cableway line which connects the commune of Stresa near Lake Maggiore with the top of Mount Mottarone.

A car fell near a pylon in one of the highest points of the cableway close to the summit. The disaster occurred due to a cable failure, preliminary reports indicate.

The cable car fell from a “relatively high point,” an alpine rescue service spokesman, Walter Milan, told Italy’s Rai News broadcaster, adding that it appears to be “completely crumpled” and almost “destroyed,” indicating that the impact “was obviously significant.”

CNSAS, the Italian alpine rescue service, confirmed that 12 people were killed in the crash, adding that this figure could “unfortunately” rise even further. They also said two air ambulances were among the vehicles dispatched to the site of the incident. They airlifted two children who were injured after the fall to a hospital in Turin.

Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Enrico Giovannini called the incident a “truly terrible tragedy” and said that he already contacted local authorities and the rescue services.

The place where the tragedy happened is a popular tourist destination during both summer and winter. The cableway started operating in the 1960s and underwent an upgrade several years ago, restarting after a pause in 2016. The cable car can accommodate up to 40 passengers.

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