Moments of tension this morning, Tuesday 30 December, at around 11:30, on the Monte Moro cable car in Macugnaga, where a cabin arriving at the upper station crashed into a wall, injuring two people. The accident occurred on the second segment of the plant, the one that connects Alpe Bill to Moro, at an altitude of over 2800 meters.
Cabin crashes into wall: two people injured
According to initial reconstructions, the cable car cabin arrived at excessive speed near the station, colliding with a wall. Three of the 15 passengers inside suffered injuries and received first aid on the spot from the medical personnel present at the summit, before being transported to the hospital by the 118 emergency helicopter.
The impact also affected the southern cabin, which at that moment was transporting only the operator, who was slightly damaged.
Ninety people trapped at height
The accident caused the plant to be blocked. At the top of Monte Moro, at the arrival station, there are about a hundred people, including children. All are unharmed, but for the moment it is impossible to descend to the valley, as the cable car was immediately blocked.
To safely return them to the village, an airlift was organized with the Fire Department's Drago 166 and Drago 61 helicopters, present on site together with the Alpine Rescue Service and the Carabinieri, who will have the task of reconstructing the exact dynamics of the accident. By mid-afternoon, 94 people had already been transported to safety in the valley.
The plant is in operation.
The Monte Moro cable car was, at the time of the accident, the only lift in operation in Macugnaga. The other structures – the Pecetto-Burki-Belvedere chairlift and the San Pietro ski lift – are closed. This was announced in recent days by the Macugnaga Trasporti e Servizi company, which has been managing the municipal facilities since 2011. Despite the maintenance work completed in the autumn and the final approval already carried out, final approval from the ministerial authorities is still awaited.
The cable car accident thus represents a double blow to this tourist area, precisely during the peak days of the winter season.
