Six people were killed and two others were seriously injured when their snowmobile, which was pulling a sled, skidded off an Italian Alpine ski slope during a nighttime drive according to the Associated Press. The vehicle slammed into a fence and was thrown into the air for "hundreds of meters."
Click here to read the full report and the names of the people who died released by the Associated Press.
Six of them were already dead on the slope of Mount Cermis by the time help arrived according to Cavalese Fire Department Commander Roberto Marchi.
"It is clear that the fundamental cause is recklessness and imprudence," Marchi told Sky TG24 TV in an interview on the slope.
The sled-towing vehicle veered off the slope on a curve, hitting the barrier on the slope's edge, sending the passengers souring in the air. Three of the riders landed "dozens of meters away" according to ANSA news agency authorities.
The slope had been labeled "pista near" or black ski run, warning visitors that the level of steepness and other "difficult conditions" were only okay for experienced skiers.
Authorities will now start to conduct tests to find out if the snowmobile's driver, who survived the crash, was under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving the snowmobile. The slope was also unlit at the time according to RAI state radio.
"Putting eight persons in the vehicle, a driver and passenger in the snowmobile and six passengers in the sled behind, made for a very heavy load," Cavalese Mayor Silvano Welponer said. "You have to know what you are doing and have the experience" to safely handle that."
Russian consul general Alecei Parmonov was able to confirm that four men and two women died in the crash according to the Associated Press.
This is the second tragedy to occur at Mount Cermis, as a U.S. Marine jet was flying low on a training run in 1998 when the jet accidently hit a ski gondola's cable. The cable car crashed to the ground, hitting and killing 20 people. The accident caused a lot of tension between the U.S. and Italy for most of the year.
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