VIENNA, Sept 5: Nine people were killed and several others injured on Monday when a helicopter accidentally dropped a massive concrete block, which sent a cable-car crashing into a mountain in the Austrian Alps. “The toll is nine dead and several people seriously injured,” police spokesman Ewald Barth said.

At least one other cable-car was struck and people were thrown out by the impact, according to the Austrian press agency APA, quoting the operating company.

According to the cable-car operator, a 750-kilogram concrete block fell from a height of 300 metres as it was being transported for use in the construction of a telecom line.

A rescue operation was under way at the scene near Soelden, western Austria. —AFP