Three dead in cable car crash south of Naples

At least three people have died after a mountain cable car cabin crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy, emergency services say.

Another person was "extremely seriously injured" in the crash at Monte Faito and was being airlifted to hospital, officials said.

Several Italian media outlets report one of the cables supporting the cabin had snapped while the cable car was traversing the valley.

The president of the region, Vincenzo De Luca, said the victims were tourists.

De Luca added that poor weather conditions including fog, wind and rain were making it very difficult for rescue workers to reach the area where the cabin had crashed, at an altitude of 1500m.

Earlier on Thursday, Italian outlets had reported that the cable car had come to a halt and several people had been rescued from another cabins which ahd stopped further down the valley.

The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia - where the cable car was located - said they believed a traction cable had snapped.

"The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the the top of the hill," he told Italian media.

He added that safety checks are done on the cable car system regularly.