14 dead including one child after Italy cable car accident – follow live updates

Our full account of the crash can be found at the link below. Details have been updated since the story was first published earlier:

One of the children injured in the crash has now died, the Italian Alpine Rescue Service announced.

The child had been airlifted to the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin, along with the other injured child.

The total number of people killed in the crash now stands at 14.

Marcella Severino, the mayor of Stresa, has given an account of what happened in the crash to local media.

Ms Severino said it appeared that a cable broke, sending the car spinning until it hit a pylon and fell to the ground.

The car then overturned “two or three times before hitting some trees”, she said. Some of those who died were thrown from the cabin.

“It was a terrible, terrible scene,” Ms Severino told SkyTG24.

• A cable car fell near the summit of Stresa-Mottarone line in the Piedmont region
• 15 people had been travelling in the car when it crashed
• 13 people have been killed
• 3 people have been taken to hospital
• Helicopters, fire crews, police and mountain rescue services attended
• The lift takes those on it around 4,500ft above sea level in around 20 mins
• It had recently reopened following the easing of lockdown restrictions
• Italy’s transport minister, Enrico Giovannini, said the line had been renovated as recently as 2016

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has sent his best wishes to those affected by today’s cable car accident.

“The tragic accident at the #funivia Stresa-Mottarone arouses deep pain for the victims and great apprehension for those who are struggling for life in these hours,” his office said in a tweet.

“I express the participation of all of Italy to the affected families and communities in mourning.”

Emergency responders have released more photographs from the crash site. Fire fighters can be seen sorting through the wreckage, Reuters has also released a photo showing what appears to be an Italian air ambulance above the site.

At least 13 people have died in the crash, emergency responders are now saying.

Italy’s Alpine Rescue Service also said the two children airlifted to hospital suffered serious injuries.

The cable car crashed about 100m before the final pylon on the line up to Mottarone from Stresa, according to the Italian Alpine Rescue Service. The cable runs particularly high above ground level at this point, with woodland terrain below.

Mario Draghi, Italy’s prime minister, has offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash.

“I learned with deep sorrow the news of the tragic accident of the Stresa-Mottarone cable car. I express the condolences of the whole government to the families of the victims, with a special thought for the seriously injured children and their families,” the prime minister said in a statement.

The prime minister’s office said Mr Draghi was following the situation as it develops.