Cable car accident in southern Italy kills at least 4 people

MILAN (AP) — A cable car carrying tourists south of Naples crashed to the ground Thursday after a cable snapped, killing at least four people and critically injuring one, officials said.

The snapped cable brought both the upward and downward-going cable cars to a halt as they traversed Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia. The upward cable car eventually crashed, causing the fatalities and injury, while eight tourists and an operator were evacuated from the downward cable car, Naples Prefect Michele de Bari said.

“The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station,'' said Castellammare Mayor Luigi Vicinanza.

Italy’s alpine rescue, along with firefighters, police and civil protection services responded to the accident.

The accident occurred just a week after the cable car, popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences for the victims and their families and said she was in touch with rescuers. She was in Washington, where she met with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Rescuers on the site where a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples has crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Rescuers recoup the body of one of the victims of a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples which crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

A cable car carrying tourists south of Naples has crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Rescuers recoup the body of one of the victims of a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples which crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Rescuers recoup the body of one of the victims of a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples which crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

A cable car carrying tourists south of Naples has crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Rescuers recoup the body of one of the victims of a cable car carrying tourists south of Naples which crashed after the cable snapped, killing at least four people and injuring one in Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

In this photo released by the Italian Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps on Thursday, April 17, 2025, rescuers reach for the smashed gondola of the Mt. Faito cablecar near Naples in southern Italy.

In this photo released by the Italian Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps on Thursday, April 17, 2025, rescuers reach for the smashed gondola of the Mt. Faito cable car near Naples in southern Italy.

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2026--

Volkswagen Financial Services Poland (VWFS Poland) and BearingPoint are marking three successful years since the launch of VCL Master Poland DAC, Poland’s first STS (Simple, Transparent, and Standardized)-compliant asset-backed securities (ABS) transaction, initiated in February 2023. Over the past three years, the securitization has demonstrated strong and stable performance, improving transparency, enabling full compliance with European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) regulations, and enhancing operational efficiency, while establishing a new benchmark in Poland’s financial services market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260505941793/en/

VWFS Poland pursued securitization to diversify the funding mix, while automating related data management and regulatory reporting to maximize efficiency. BearingPoint provided specialized end-to-end support, from defining business requirements and preparing ESMA-compliant documentation to implementing an automated securitization platform, enabling the successful launch of the transaction. Since then, BearingPoint has continued to support VWFS Poland through its Securitization-as-a-Service model, enabling smooth operations, fully automated investor and regulatory reporting, and efficient adaptation to evolving requirements, further strengthening a trusted long-term partnership.

“Our successful and comprehensive collaboration with BearingPoint on the first Polish ABS transaction has allowed VWFS Poland to join the avant-garde of the Polish Financial Market,” said Piotr Pyrć, Head of Treasury Administration, Volkswagen Bank GmbH Sp. z o.o. Branch in Poland.

“With our Refinancing as a Service platform, we enabled VWFS Poland to automate complex securitization processes and to achieve the highest level of data and reporting quality. The result is a stable, efficient, and fully transparent ABS program that has proven to perform reliably over time. Together, we designed an ABS program that has become a benchmark in the market,” said Donald Wachs, Global Leader BearingPoint Products.

This three-year milestone highlights the value of BearingPoint’s Securitization-as-a-Service offering, which has provided VWFS Poland with fully automated, end-to-end reporting and operational support, deep insights into its asset pool, and automated data integration with its internal data warehouse, significantly reducing manual work. The collaboration illustrates how strong partnerships and modern solutions can strengthen market position and deliver sustainable impact across the financial services market.

Learn more about Securitization-as-a-Service: https://bearingpoint.services/securitization-as-a-service/en/.

About Volkswagen Financial Services Poland

Volkswagen Financial Services Polska Sp. z o.o. is part of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, one of the world’s largest global providers of financial services for the automotive industry, operating in more than 25 European countries. The company offers professional solutions in vehicle financing and fleet management.

Working closely with financial market experts, VWFS develops individually tailored fleet financing tools. From a pioneer of financial and logistics solutions in the 1960s, the company has evolved into a European leader, currently leasing more than 1.2 million vehicles worldwide.

In Poland, Volkswagen Financial Services is the number one provider of passenger car financing (SAMAR, CEPiK; leasing/CFM registrations) and a recognized expert in modern mobility and electromobility. It delivers financial solutions for all car brands of the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, CUPRA) and Porsche.

About BearingPoint

BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. We help businesses transform by combining deep industry expertise with strong capabilities in strategy, operations, and technology. Dedicated SAP and Microsoft transformation units, a strong focus on AI, and outcome-based products enable us to provide tailored, innovative solutions that create measurable and sustainable value.

In addition to our core consulting operations, we run two joint ventures. Arcwide, our joint venture with IFS, specializes in business transformation enabled by IFS technology. BearingPoint North America, our joint venture with ABeam Consulting, focuses on consulting excellence and business transformation built on SAP.

BearingPoint works with many of the world’s leading companies and public-sector organizations. Together with its strategic alliance partner ABeam Consulting, the firm brings together more than 15,000 professionals and serves clients in over 70 countries, delivering seamless business transformation, strengthening performance, and driving sustainable impact.

BearingPoint is recognized among TIME World’s Best Companies and Forbes World’s Best Employers. The firm is also a certified B Corporation, committed to responsible business and creating long-term value for organizations, people, and society.

For more information, please visit:
Homepage: www.bearingpoint.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bearingpoint

Through a long-term partnership between Volkswagen Financial Services Poland and BearingPoint, VWFS Poland successfully launched its first STS-compliant ABS transaction, VCL Master Poland DAC, which has delivered nearly three years of robust performance.