13 KILLED, 2 HURT AFTER CABLE CAR SLAMS INTO A MOUNTAIN IN SOUTHERN ITALY

Thirteen people died and two children were seriously injured on Sunday when a cable car slammed into the side of a mountain in northern Italy, emergency services said.

The toll could rise further from the accident in Stresa, a resort town on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Italy’s Piedmont region, the Alpine rescue service said on Twitter.

A spokesman said two children aged nine and five had been seriously injured and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Turin. A statement by Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed his grief and offered his condolences to the victim’s families.

The 20-minute cable car ride, popular with tourists, links Stresa with the 4,900-foot summit of the Mottarone mountain, and offers spectacular views of the Alps. The ministry of infrastructure said in a statement the accident occurred at 12.30pm as the cabin was about 100 metres from the summit. The ministry said the accident appeared to have been caused by a ruptured cable near the top of the route.