Cable Car
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 66 of 100.
Chamonix ski resort, France, 6:10 pm. Adrien Valcourt, world downhill champion, was found dead at the foot of the Couloir du Diable, a run closed since morning due to avalanche risk.
He fell from the terrace of the cable car's upper station, between 5:35 pm and 5:50 pm. But the cable car closed at 5 pm, and the only trail up there takes three hours.
Three people spoke with Adrien today and are still at the resort. One of them knows how he got to the top.
The break room of the cable car's lower station, boots drying on the heater, bluish snow behind the glass.
Suspects
Gaspard RouvierCable car technician, 52
Thibault MorandSki instructor, 44
Margaux DelormeDirector of the sponsoring brand, 46
The real case
The Mottarone cable car crash
Stresa, Italy, May 2021
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
On 23 May 2021, a cabin of the cable car linking Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, to Mount Mottarone plunged to the ground near the top station after the haul rope snapped. Fourteen people died; one child survived.
The investigation found that the emergency brake, which should have locked the cabin if the rope broke, had been deliberately disabled with clamps to avoid service stoppages caused by a recurring fault. Those responsible for operation and maintenance were prosecuted.
The game borrows the cable car whose maintenance was bypassed to keep it running and the death that results. The push, the characters and the outcome are fiction.
Sources
Case glossary
Words from this case you might not know.
- couloir
- A steep, narrow gully on a mountainside, often filled with snow and prone to avalanches.