Two British nationals killed in Naples cable car crash named

Two Britons killed in a cable car crash near Naples have been named by Italian media.

Graeme Derek Winn, 65, and his wife Margaret Elaine Winn, 58, were among four people - including an Israeli woman and an Italian man, the cable car operator - who died in the incident on Thursday, which officials said happened after the cable snapped. The only survivor, a second Israeli tourist, was in a stable but critical condition, the Naples hospital treating him said on Friday.

Ms Winn was initially named by Italian media as Margaret Elaine Winn, but it is understood she was known as Elaine. The couple were described as "good friends" by Chris Mann, who posted on social media saying they were "enjoying retirement with lots of motorbike tours and holidays".

"How incredibly sad," he wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: "We are supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities." Nine passengers were helped out of a separate cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.

They were freed one by one in a difficult operation using harnesses, footage on RAI television and other media showed. Italy's alpine rescue, along with firefighters, police and civil protection services, responded to the incident.

It occurred just a week after the cable car, popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season. It averages around 110,000 visitors each year.

Umberto De Gregorio, chairman of the EAV public transport company that runs the Mount Faito cable car, described the incident as "a tragedy" and said the service would remain shut "for a long time" following the crash. He told Sky News the cause of the incident was being investigated, and that before its reopening, the cable car service had undergone three months of tests with checks carried out every morning.

"Everything we had to do was done," he said. "Evidently something went wrong, we don't know what, whether an exceptional unforeseen event or human error.

The investigators will discover all this." He added: "Furthermore, I knew very well one of the four victims, our employee. He is the brother of my driver - who is also my friend, since we lived together practically every day.

"I knew him and yesterday I saw his heartbroken wife, we hugged each other. There is so much emotion." Read more from Sky News:US ready to 'move on' from Russia-Ukraine peace effortsSky News uncovers new evidence on aid workers attackThe Godfather-style gang war gripping two cities The UK Foreign Office said: "We are dealing with an incident in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities.

Our thoughts are with those affected." Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences for the victims and their families and said she was in touch with rescuers. She spoke from Washington, where she was meeting US President Donald Trump..