Four people, including two British tourists, died, and one person was seriously injured after a cable car crashed near Naples, Italy, on Thursday, April 17.

The cabin was travelling from Castellammare di Stabia to Monte Faito when the accident occurred just days after reopening for the season, according to several reports.

Cable car crash, Monte Faito, Italy

According to The Guardian, a cable broke on the popular tourist route, sending the upward-bound cable car crashing to the ground. The Italian fire department stated via Telegram: ‘Four lifeless bodies were found, while a fifth injured person was rescued and taken to hospital,’ confirming this as the final toll.

The Daily Mail reported that ‘two British tourists are among the four who were killed… The third victim is said to be from Israel, while the fourth was the driver of the cable car and has been named as Carmine Parlato.’ A second Israeli tourist was seriously injured, having ‘suffered multiple bone fractures’ and was airlifted to Naples’ Ospedale del Mare hospital.

More than 50 firefighters participated in the emergency response, but strong winds and fog severely hampered the rescue effort. One cabin near Castellammare was lowered safely, while the other remained terrifyingly suspended above a ravine.

Footage published by Italian TV and shared online showed that 16 survivors were helped out of the other cabin and evacuated one by one by harness.

How did the cable car crash happen?

An investigation has been opened by the Torre Annunziata prosecutor’s office. Castellammare Mayor Luigi Vicinanza explained: “The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station” (Cited by The Daily Mail).

The head of the cable car operator Ente Autonomo Volturno, Umberto De Gregorio, told The Guardian: “The cable car reopened 10 days ago with all the required safety conditions… What happened today is an unimaginable, unforeseeable tragedy.”

The Monte Faito cable car, operational since 1952, has a tragic history. An accident back in1960 also left four dead.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was in Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump at the time, issued her condolences via a government press release, stating she wished to express “her closeness and deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.”

Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi also responded, saying: “I express deep condolences, on behalf of the Metropolitan City of Naples and myself, for the victims of the tragedy that occurred this afternoon due to the collapse of the Faito cable car cabin.”

View all news from Italy.

Hazel Behan, 41, is accusing Portuguese authorities of mishandling her 2004 rape case involving Christian Brückner.

Brückner is the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann disappearance.

Who is Hazel Behan and why is she suing?

Behan says she was raped in 2004 in her Algarve apartment in Praia da Rocha. She has accused Christian Brückner, a convicted rapist and sex offender who later became the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Brückner was tried and acquitted in a German court in 2023 in relation to Behan’s case and two other alleged rapes – one involving a teenager and another woman. He was also cleared of charges of child sexual abuse, as reported by RTÉ.

Hazel Behan’s claims of police failures and cover-ups

Behan’s legal team argues that Portuguese authorities failed to:

• Collect key forensic evidence, including blood-stained bed sheets and broken false nails
• Provide a translator so she could understand the proceedings or provide full testimony
• Avoid placing her under surveillance and allegedly pressuring her to return to Ireland to protect Portugal’s tourism image

Her lawyers claim these actions violated her rights to a private life and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment, as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights.

“This isn’t just about justice for me,” Behan said in a statement issued via her solicitor Darragh Mackin. “It’s about standing up after being silenced and ignored for far too long.”

She added that she still carries “the pain of how [she] was treated every single day,” but hopes her action will ensure that Portugal and other countries treat rape victims, “both domestic and foreign,” with “the decency and respect they deserve.”

Who is Christian Brückner?

Brückner has a long criminal history involving rape and child sexual abuse. He lived in the Algarve from 1995 to 2007 and was in the Praia da Luz area on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007.

German police officially named him the prime suspect in Madeleine’s case in 2020, but no charges have been filed to date. He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the 2005 rape of an elderly American woman in Portugal.

Behan’s lawyer, Darragh Mackin, said the case represents “systematic and inexcusable failings” by the Portuguese authorities and called on the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that victims are “not ignored, dismissed or silenced by the systems that are meant to protect them.”

He added that the inaction of the Portuguese investigation “ultimately contributed to the acquittal of one of the most notorious perpetrators in modern history,” cited by 20 Minutos.

View all news from Portugal.

Met Éireann has issued Status Yellow rain warnings for several counties in Ireland as “spells of rain, heavy at times” are expected to cause localised flooding during the Easter weekend.

The warnings begin tonight (April 17) and run through until Saturday morning, April 19. Met Éireann issued three separate warnings covering southern, western, and southeastern counties.

When and where the Yellow rain warnings apply in Ireland this weekend

• Cork and Kerry: The alert is valid from 11pm Thursday April 17, to 12pm Friday, April 18, with “spells of rain, heavy at times,” that could lead to “localised flooding.”
• Galway and Mayo: A second Status Yellow warning is in place from 6am to 9pm Friday, April 18 mirroring flood risks mentioned above.
• Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford: A third warning applies from 6am Friday 18 to 6am Saturday 19, with “heavy spells of rain” also expected.

Met Éireann also issued a Small Craft Warning for marine areas from Dungarvan to Roche’s Point to Valentia, with “easterly winds reaching force 6,” valid from 9pm Thursday to midnight Friday.

Thursday and Friday weather this Easter in Ireland

Despite a calm start, “showers will become heavier and more frequent in the afternoon as they move northwards,” Met Éireann said in a forecast update. Rain will develop in the southwest by early evening on Thursday, with temperatures ranging from 9°C to 13°C.

The national forecaster warned that “tonight will be wet and breezy, with showery rain moving northwards across the country,” and “the rain will be heavy at times and may cause localised flooding.” Overnight lows are expected to be 4°C to 8°C.

Saturday and Easter Sunday outlook in Ireland

Saturday will start “cloudy and damp, with further outbreaks of rain,” according to Independent.ie. Some dry spells may appear later in the day, especially in the east. Temperatures are forecast to reach 9°C to 15°C during the day and drop to 5°C to 9°C overnight.

For Easter Sunday, Met Éireann said there is still “some uncertainty”, but “current indications show dry weather in the east with occasional sunny spells, but cloudier weather in the west with rain moving in.” Temperatures will range from 10°C to 14°C during the day and dip to 7°C to 9°C at night.

Easter Monday weather in Ireland

Rain is expected to clear from the northeast by Monday morning, followed by “sunny spells and showers,” according to Met Éireann. Temperatures will rise to a more pleasant 11°C to 14°C.

Will this wet forecast change your Easter plans?

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