London family 'minute away' from cable car crash

A family of four from London have spoken about being at the scene of a cable car accident in Italy in which two British tourists were killed.

Megan Pacey, 50, was with her husband, James Ross, and their two children, Hannah, aged 10, and eight-year-old son, Luke, when they saw a suspended cable car.

She said: "We were within a minute or two of [the incident] happening."

Italian officials have named the British woman who was among those killed in the cable car crash on Thursday at Monte Faito, near Naples, as Elaine Winn.

The second Briton killed has been identified by authorities in the town of Castellammare di Stabia but not yet named.

The cable car cabin had plunged to the ground after one of the cables supporting it snapped, local officials said. A number of people had to be evacuated from another cable car.

Ms Pacey told PA News: "They started winching people down from the cable car.

"We watched the first couple of people come down in a harness, and as we left, there was a sense of urgency that had kicked in."

She said she saw flowers and candles on the steps outside the railway station on Friday, and emergency services remained at the scene.

The two other victims included the driver of the cable car, named by authorities as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato, and an Israeli woman identified as Janan Suliman.

A fifth person, believed to be a foreign tourist, was seriously injured during the incident.

In a translated post on social media, Vincenzo De Luca, president of Campania, called the day "truly tragic and painful" and said his thoughts go to those who died, were injured and their families.

He said he was grateful for the rescuers and said an investigation into what happened will be carried out.

Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare, said on Facebook that there will be a day of mourning and decided to cancel all initiatives for the Easter holidays.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are dealing with an incident in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities. Our thoughts are with those affected."

An earlier version of this story gave the name of the deceased woman as Margaret Elaine Winn - but it was later established she was known as Elaine Winn. The story also named the Castellammare mayor as Luigi Vicinanza Sindaco, but Sindaco is his title in Italian.

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