Rome |Three tourists were among four people who died when a cable car crashed south of Naples, including a British and an Israeli woman, an Italian official said Friday.

Only two of the three foreign victims have been identified since the accident on Thursday, said Marco De Rosa, the spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense.

According to initial information, a traction cable snapped, bringing both an upward and a downward-going cable cars to a halt as they traversed Monte Faito in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into multiple manslaughter and culpable disaster.

A fifth person, who is also believed to be a foreign tourist, was seriously injured and hospitalised in Naples, officials