British couple killed in Italian cable car crash named - as authorities probe manslaughter charges
Two British tourists killed after the cable car they were travelling in crashed to the ground in Italy have been named.
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The two British nationals were among five involved in the incident, with the car plunging into a ravine close to the 3,400ft summit of Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia, Italy.
The car is said to have been travelling at "maximum speed" when it struck a pylon during severe weather conditions.
Four people and an engineer were aboard the cable car when the tragedy occurred over woodland in Naples, Italy.
The British victims have now been identified as Margaret Elaine Winn, 58, and Graeme Derek Winn, 65, according to Italian news agency Ansa.
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Janan Suliman, an Arab woman with Israeli citizenship, was the third foreign victim, with Carmine Parlato, 59, the Italian driver of the cable car, named by local media as the fourth.
A fifth tourist, thought to be the brother of the Israeli victim, survived the crash and remains in a stable but critical condition in hospital, a spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense said.
Italy's alpine rescue responded to the accident at Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia on Thursday.
The governor of Campania told Sky News the four victims were "two couples of tourists".
Two of them have now been identified as British tourists. One other victim was Israeli, and the fourth was the driver of the cable car.
Local prosecutors have now opened an investigation into possible manslaughter charges.
The investigation will now involve the cable stations, the pylons, the two cabins and the cable, officials said.
The sole survivor, a middle-aged man, remains in a nearby Naples hospital.
"The cabin at the top has crashed," Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company which runs the cable car service, wrote on Facebook, calling it "a tragedy."
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One of the cables that supports the cabin had snapped, causing it to crash, according to Italian media.
16 passengers were then helped out of a cabin that stopped in mid-air near the foot of the mountain.
Around 50 rescuers joined the search, a local fire department said to Sky News.
The passengers were rescued from the cable car one by one using safety harnesses, footage on RAI public television and other media showed.
Vincenzo De Luca, head of the Campania region around Naples, told RAI that rescue operations were being hampered by fog and high winds.
The cable car is popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples.