The police in Italy on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of no fewer than three people following an investigation into a cable car crash in the Piedmont Mountains that left at least 14 people dead.
Investigators say the emergency brakes had been disabled and the three members of the operating company were aware.
According to a local transport official, the brakes’ failure meant the car was travelling at over 100km per hour (62 mph) when the cable broke.
The three people, all involved in management of the cable car, have been accused of deliberately deactivating the emergency brake that could have stopped it slamming into the side of the mountain when the cable snapped on Sunday afternoon.
“The public prosecutors office has ordered three arrests for removal or omission of precautions against accidents at work,” a spokesman for the carabinieri police said.
The three suspects have been identified as the owner, director and chief of operations of the company that managed the cable car.
“The three detainees had known about the failure of the emergency brake system for weeks,” news agency Efe quoted prosecutor Olimpia Bossi as saying.
