Tributes have been paid to an “adventurous” British couple who were killed when their cable car plunged into a ravine south of Naples.
Graeme Winn, 65, and his wife Elaine Winn, 58, from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, were enjoying their retirement and exploring Europe on motorbikes, according to friends.
Their cable car plummeted 3,400 feet at “maximum speed” just seconds away from landing at Monte Faito after one of the traction cables supporting it snapped on Thursday afternoon, according to reports.
One friend posted on Facebook: “Just heard the tragic news that the couple who died in the Italian cable car crash were Graeme and Elaine Winn.
“Good friends who were enjoying retirement with lots of motorbike tours and holidays. How incredibly sad.”
Another wrote: “Shocked to the core. We met Graeme and Elaine in Split a few years back, a lovely couple. I can’t believe it.”
The couple had married five years ago, just after moving to the East Midlands from Essex.
Neighbours said Graeme was regularly spotted fixing his motorbike in his drive, and Elaine was seen walking to work as school business manager at Welland Park Academy.
A Welland Park Academy spokesperson said: “Elaine was a much loved and highly respected member of our school community. Her professionalism, warmth, and unwavering dedication to school life touched the lives of students, staff, and families alike.
“She gave so much to the school beyond her role, and many students will have fond memories of her from the school trips she supported over the years. The care and kindness she showed to everyone in our community means her loss will be felt deeply by us all.
Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that it is “supporting the families of a British couple who have died in Italy and are in touch with the local authorities”.
Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP for Rutland, Stamford, added to the flood of tributes for the couple. She said: “Such deeply sad news.
“My heart goes out to anyone who loved and knew Graeme and Elaine Winn from Market Harborough.”
Janan Suliman, an Israeli citizen, was the third foreign victim to be identified by local outlets.
The fourth victim was the Italian driver of the cable car, named in Italian media as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato.
A fifth tourist, said to be the brother of the Israeli victim, is in a stable but critical condition at a Naples hospital after being found in foggy and windy conditions.
Initial reports suggested that a traction cable may have snapped as the cable car ascended Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.
Sixteen passengers were helped out of another cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.
The accident happened just a week after the cable car, which is popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season. It averages around 110,000 visitors each year.
Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter, which will involve an inspection of the cable stations, the pylons, the two cabins and the cable, officials said.
Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, said on Thursday: “The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station.”
He added there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs 1.8 miles from the town to the top of the mountain.