Four tourists have died after a cable car cabin crashed to the ground near Naples, Italian authorities have confirmed.

Another person was "extremely seriously injured" during the crash at Mount Faito.

Officials added that the individual was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Vincenzo De Luca, who serves as the region's president, said the victims were all tourists.

Italian media had reported that the cable car had come to a halt and several people had been rescued from a second cabin.

The second cabin was also said to have stopped further down the valley.

However, De Luca stressed that poor weather conditions were making a rescue operation difficult, with fog, wind and rain impacting the area.

The crash also took place at high altitude, amplifying the problems posed by adverse weather conditions.

The Mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, where the cable car was located, also claimed that the traction cable had snapped.

Luigi Vicinanza said: "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 also added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line.

Around 50 rescuers had been involved in the search to recover the cable car passengers.

Sixteen passengers were helped out of a separate cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.

The incident took place at the popular holiday point for tourists to look over Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples.

The cable car accident also took place just one week after the destination reopened for the season.

In 2021, 14 people died in Italy when a cable car linking the northern Lake Maggiore.