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A Swiss couple died and their baby was seriously injured by the collapse of an Alpine ropeway, police said Sunday.
Police in the mountainous region of Schwyz said it was not clear why the family had been using the ropeway — a form of small cable-car meant only for the transport of goods.
The accident occurred Saturday at Alp Baerlaui, when the wooden container carrying the family plunged 30 metres (98 feet) into the forested mountainside.
The 38-year-old father and 31-year-old mother were killed instantly, police said.
Their one-year-old baby was seriously injured.
The baby’s life was saved by the fact that he was being carried in a rucksack, and by branches and bushes which reduced the speed of the fall.
Ropeways make it easier to move supplies to and from mountain chalets and pastures, and it is illegal for them to carry people.
An investigation was underway, police said.