Four people died after a mountain cable car fitted to the ground near Naples in southern Italy, according to emergency services.
Another person was “very seriously injured” in Mount Faith’s accident and was transported by plane to the hospital, officials said.
The Italian media reported that one of the cables supporting a cabin higher at the top of the mountain had broken while the cable car crossed the valley.
The president of the region, Vincenzo de Luca, said that the victims were all tourists.
De Luca added that bad weather conditions, including fog, wind and rain, made it difficult for rescuers to reach the area where the cabin crushed, at high altitude.
The Italian media reported on Thursday that the cable car line had stopped and more than a dozen people had been saved from a second cabin which had stopped further in the valley.
Images have shown that passengers were in winch in harnesses.
The mayor of Castellammare di Stagia – where the cable car was located – said it was believed that a traction cable had broken.
“The downstream emergency brake has worked, but clearly not that of the cabin that was about to reach the top of the hill,” he told Italian media.
He added that there had been regular security checks on the cable car line.
The company that manages the service, the public transport company of the EAV, described it the crash as “a tragedy” on social networks.
