Italy's Alpine rescue service said two children were taken to the hospital. The cable car collapsed near the summit of the Stresa-Mottarone cable car line.

A mountaintop cable car plunged to the ground in northern Italy on Sunday, killing at least 12 people and sending two children to the hospital, authorities said.

A photo of the wreckage taken by Italy's fire squad showed the crushed and crumpled remains of the cable car in a clearing of a thick patch of pine trees near the summit of the Mottarone peak overlooking Lake Maggiore.