Mother-of-two dies in freak accident in front of family after clothes snag on cable car over Italian valley

A mother-of-two died in a freak accident causing her to plunge hundreds of feet to her death in front of her husband and children.

Margerita Lega was on holiday in Calasca Castiglione, in the Anzasca Valley situated in the Italian Alps, when her clothes snagged on a cable car on Thursday at 11am.

The 41-year-old, originally from Trentino, was loading luggage onto a small telefrica machine - a cable car used to transport baggage and objects rather than people - when she got caught.

She was dragged over a cliff edge when the transportation suddenly switched on, according to the Daily Mail.

Ms Lega managed to hold on for a few moments before she was unable to hold her grip any longer, and plummeted 150 metres (492 feet) to her death.

The family were said to be trying to reach a cabin on a mountain in the region. Her husband and two children - a six-year-old and nine-year-old - were present at the time and are reported to have witnessed the entire ordeal. They are currently being supported while the incident is being investigated by police.

An elaborate recovery operation was initiated to locate Ms Lega, with technicians from the Piedmont Alpine and Speleological Rescue team lowering themselves from a helicopter and making the rest of the discovery by land, according to Italian pubication La Repubblica .

Rope manoeuvres were required to overcome the rocky and uneven terrain to find her body. Health workers were unable to do anything for Ms Lega other than confirm her death upon arrival. Rescuers from Guardia di Finanza arrived and her body was then recovered by a firefighters’ helicopter.

Silvia Tipaldi, mayor of Calasca Castiglione, shared her condolences with the family and said a full investigation was being carried out.

“We are shocked. We are waiting for the magistrate’s checks on the plant to have more information on what unfortunately turned out to be a tragedy,” she said.

She added the “cableway paperwork was regularly filed with the municipality” and said authorities currently believe “the tragedy was accidental”.

Ms Lega’s family are “in shock” and the local government has offered support to them.