A British couple who died in a tragic cable car accident near Naples have been named by Italian media as Elaine and Graeme Winn.
The accident occurred on Thursday when a mountain cable car cabin fell to the ground after one of its supporting cables reportedly snapped, according to local officials.
The operator of the cable car stated that the system had undergone a safety inspection just two weeks prior. A criminal investigation is now underway.
The UK Foreign Office has confirmed it is liaising with local authorities, though it has not officially confirmed the identities of the British victims.
Initial reports in the Italian press named the woman as Margaret Elaine Winn, but it is now understood she was known simply as Elaine. The couple were residents of Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
The other victims of the incident include the cable car operator, identified as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato, and an Israeli woman named Janan Suliman. Her brother, who was also in the cabin, sustained life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition after being airlifted to hospital.
Authorities in Torre Annunziata have launched a formal investigation into the cause of the accident.
Sixteen people were rescued from a second cabin on the same line, which had stopped lower down in the valley. They were safely winched to the ground.
The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, where the cable car is based, told Italian media that a traction cable is believed to have snapped. “The emergency brake at the bottom worked, but evidently not the one in the cabin nearing the summit,” he said. He also confirmed that the cable car line, which spans three kilometres up the mountain, had passed all recent safety checks.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking during a visit to Washington, expressed her “sincere condolences” to the families of the victims.
The Mount Faito cable car has been in operation since 1952. A similar incident on the same line in 1960 resulted in four fatalities.