At least nine holidaymakers have died in a cable car accident in the Austrian alps. Two cabins plunged down a mountain at Soelden, in the western state of Tyrol. As well as those killed, at least 10 people have been seriously injured. A block of cement being transported by helicopter to a construction site fell on one of the cables.

“These were apparently young people taking part in a ski course,” said the mayor of Soelden. “What happened is that a helicopter lost its load while transporting material. What we know for the moment is that this caused the cable to shake, provoking the plunge of the cabins.” Soelden is a popular ski resort both in winter and summer, and cable cars carry people up to glaciers on the peaks above the village.

Copyright © 2012 euronews