Seven people killed in a cable car accident

At least seven Buddhist monks, including three foreign nationals, died in a cable car accident at a Sri Lankan monastery on Wednesday, local police told CNN.

The monks were among 13 people travelling on the cable car at the Na Uyana Monastery in central Sri Lanka, which spreads over more than 5,000 acres of forest on a mountain range, Pansiyagama Police said

The incident took place at around 9 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, according to police. Of those who were killed, three were foreign nationals from India, Russia and Romania, officers said.

CNN has reached out to the foreign ministries of those countries for comment.

Images from the scene of the crash show monks standing in the forest next to the cable car’s tracks. The tracks themselves are on a steep incline, and are parallel to a huge, winding set of steps.

According to Na Uyana Monastery’s website, the complex is one of the oldest Buddhist forest monasteries in the country, dating back to the 3rd century BCE.

More than 200 monks live in the complex, the website says, while visitors are able to participate in meditation retreats and other spiritual events.

Four people were killed and one severely injured when their cable car plunged into a ravine in Italy on Thursday, local authorities said.

The accident happened after a cable on the Monte Faito cableway near Sorrento snapped in severe weather, according to Vincenzo De Luca, the president of the Campania region in southern Italy.

Witnesses on the ground said the cable car plummeted into the valley below, hitting a pylon on the way down. It also reportedly hit a crane on a construction site.

De Luca said the car that fell had two couples and one worker from the cableway aboard.

One person survived the fall, according to Italy’s fire brigade, but was severely injured and air-lifted to a hospital in Naples.

The cableway, which reopened on April 10 after renovations, runs from Castellammare di Stabia between Naples and Sorrento, some 1,092 meters to Monte Faito overlooking the bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius volcano.

Rescuers evacuated 16 people from the cable cars below the break in the cable, a spokesperson for Italy’s fire brigade told CNN.

There were no cable cars above the break, the fire brigade said. Strong winds hampered the rescue effort and it took first responders with helicopters working in extremely foggy conditions more than 90 minutes to locate the wreckage.

foreign tourists and workers were among those rescued, De Luca said. An investigation into the incident has been opened by the local prosecutor’s office.

Italy’s President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa posted his condolences on social media. “I learn with deep sorrow of the tragedy that occurred on the Monte Faito cable car. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and I address a thought of gratitude to all the rescuers involved.”

Local rail stations that connect Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast to Naples were closed.