[5][6] Construction work for the cable car began in 1967, carried out by the firm Poscio, under the guidance of architect Mario Cracchi from nearby Baveno.

[8] The deadly crash occurred at 12:22 p.m. local time, as a cabin was ascending on the line's upper section from the middle station at Alpino towards the summit of Mottarone.

When the haulage cable snapped, in very close proximity to the summit station at low speed, the cabin careered downhill until it collided with a pylon, then fell about 54 meters (180 ft) before tumbling down the steep slope of the mountain, stopping after impacting trees.

Footage captured by a surveillance camera from the summit station depicted the cabin suddenly and violently being pulled backwards at the moment the cable snapped while approaching the platform.

[9] Hikers reported hearing a loud hiss shortly before the crash, believed to have been caused by at least one of the cable lines snapping.

Thirteen people died at the scene of the accident,[11] while two children were seriously injured and airlifted to a pediatric hospital in Turin.

[19] According to police, they had intentionally deactivated the automatic emergency brake, as a malfunction had repeatedly led to the halting of the cabins.

Based on photos from the disaster site, experts have been able to determine that at least one of the gondola's brakes had been disabled with a steel clamp, which is usually employed during specific maintenance activities.

[24][needs update] According to one of the experts involved, the traction cable had rusted from the inside – because a routine maintenance measure that should have been carried out every three months was omitted for five years.

[30] In June 2021, Italy's public broadcaster, RAI, aired CCTV footage of the incident on its news programme.