One person died and several others were evacuated after a cable car crashed into a mountain in the Czech Republic.
The car broke away from its cable and fell 3,300 feet to the ground in Liberec, a mountainous region in the north of the country on Sunday.
There was only one person, a staff member, on board at the time who ‘succumbed to their injuries,’ a rescue spokesperson said.
Pictures from the scene showed the mangled remains of the cabin on the ground, surrounded by members of the emergency services.
The other cabin which also climbs the Jested mountain was unaffected but local TV reported visitors had to be evacuated mid-air.
The attraction – popular with skiers – was scheduled to close on November 1 for scheduled maintenance.
‘One cabin fell while on its way down. There was one person inside, who unfortunately succumbed to their injuries,’ spokesman Michael Georgiev told Czech Television.
‘Fortunately, the other cabin stayed in its normal place, some 15 people were evacuated, they should be without injuries, just suffered mental shock,’ he said.
Martin Puta, the head of the regional government, said he hoped the cause of the crash will be investigated soon.
It was the first such accident involving the Czech Republic’s oldest cable car, which dates to 1933 and is operated by the Czech Railways.
In May, a cable car plunged 1,640 feet to the ground as it climbed a mountain near Lake Maggiore in Italy.
The tragedy killed 14 people, including the parents of Eitan Biran, an Israeli boy, 5, who was the sole survivor of the crash.
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