A cable car crashed into a mountainside Sunday in northern Italy, killing at least nine people and sending two children to hospital, authorities said.

Photos of the event taken by firefighters show the twisted remains of the cable car in a clearing near pine trees, near the top of Monte Mottarone, near Lake Maggiore.

In that place, the cable car was going high, said Walter Milan, a spokesman for the alpine rescue service.

So far the cause of the accident has not been clarified.

Milan claimed that the cable had been reinforced in 2016 and that the cable car recently reopened, following forced closure in response to coronavirus restrictions.

Mottarone stands 4,900 feet tall and has a view of the lake and the Alps in the Piedmont region. On the mountain there is a small amusement park, Alpyland, with a roller coaster that offers a total view of the landscape.

Many ski areas in Italy also have cycling and mountaineering routes, which become very popular in the spring and summer.

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