On Sunday a cable car tore in northern Italy and a gondola fell hundreds of meters. According to experts, this cannot happen without external influence.
Salzburg (dpa) – According to experts in Austria, a cable car accident like the one in Italy is unimaginable. Christian Felder, chairman of the technical committee at the professional association of cableways, ruled out the rupture of a pull rope without external influence today on the sidelines of a press conference.
Even an intentional shutdown of a security system could not happen in Austria, he said. The country not only has one of the strictest cable car laws in the world with regular controls, but also has well-trained staff.
Daily checks before operation
“Safety is the top priority. Only then does profitability come into play. ”That starts with the daily checks before, during and after operation and continues up to the main annual overhauls, says Felber. To this end, precise material controls take place every few years. All checks are documented and checked by the authorities. The 253 cable car companies in Austria operate more than 1100 cable car locations.
In the northern Italian region of Piedmont, a total of 14 people were killed in the crash of a gondola west of Lake Maggiore on Sunday, only one young boy survived. The cause of the accident was initially unclear. Investigators suspect that a mechanism on the nacelle, which was supposed to trigger the emergency brake if the rope breaks, had been deactivated. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating, among other things, negligent homicide.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210527-99-763385 / 5
