4 Dead, 1 Hospitalized After Cable Car Plummets into Ravine: ‘A Tragic and Painful Day’

• Four people are dead and another has been seriously injured after a cable car crashed to the ground in Naples, Southern Italy, on the afternoon of Thursday, April 17
• Vincenzo DeLuca, the president of the Campania region, called it a "tragic and painful day"
• Sixteen passengers were left stranded in a separate cable car and had to be freed by harness one by one

Four people were killed and another was seriously injured when a cable car crashed to the ground in Naples, Southern Italy, on the afternoon of Thursday, April 17, according to local authorities.

Vincenzo DeLuca, the president of the Campania region, where Naples is located, confirmed the tragedy on Instagram, writing, “It was a really tragic and painful day for the Campania because of the tragic accident that occurred on the cable car of [Monte] Faito.”

His statement, which has been translated from the original Italian, continued: “Our first thoughts are with the four people who died in the accident, to the person hospitalized in serious condition at the Mare Hospital and to all their relatives.”

According to the BBC, two of the four people killed were British tourists, while two were Israeli. The cable car they were in was traveling from the town of Castellammare di Stabia, on the Gulf of Naples, to Monte Faito, about two miles away.

CNN reported that the cable supporting the car snapped in severe weather. The outlet also noted that the cable car plunged into the valley below, hitting a pylon and a crane on a construction site. According to Sky News, the only survivor of the accident is a middle-aged man who is currently in the hospital in critical condition.

As reported by The Guardian, more than 50 firefighters took part in the rescue, with DeLuca praising their efforts. “We are grateful to the rescuers, who intervened in a timely manner and in difficult conditions. They did a commendable job."

“Now it’s time to understand what happened. Any confirmation about what happened will be made with maximum speed and with absolute punishment,” his statement concluded. 

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences for the victims and their families and said she was in touch with rescuers, according to the Associated Press. She was in Washington, meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump as the tragedy unfolded. 

Sixteen passengers were helped out of a separate cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident, reported Sky News. They were freed one by one in a difficult operation using harnesses, according to footage shared by NBC News.

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The cable car had just reopened for the summer season with “all the required safety conditions,” said Umberto de Gregorio, the head of the cable car company, according to The Guardian. “What happened today is an unimaginable, unforeseeable tragedy," he said.

The cable car has been operating since 1952, and a similar accident in 1960 also left four dead, according to the outlet.

The Italian fire service, the Italian police and EAV public transport did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for an update on the situation.