MoonMan wrote:

: I did wonder how a gondola managed to come off the cable, and for that
: matter how people where "thrown out" of a modern gondola, but after thinking
: about the families of the victims, I still wonder what the probability of
: hitting a cable with a lump of concrete is?

My reading of the BBC News item suggest that the lump of concrete hit a cabin
and knocked it off the wire. Then the nearest other gondolas - while remaining
attached - swung so violently that people were thrown out!

Still seems crazy to fly directly over the gondolas and not just to one side!