The dropped cable car in Austria's mountainous Tirol region. (Xinhua Photo)

    VIENNA, Sept. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Nine people were killed and more than 10 others injured Monday in a cable car accident in western Austria, the APA news agency reported.

    The tragedy occurred when a helicopter accidentally dropped a massive concrete block weighing 750 kg onto a cable car in Austria's mountainous Tirol region, killing three of the five people in it.

    The block also shook the car just ahead, causing six of the eight occupants to fall out of the car to their deaths, said the report.

    All the dead, six children and three adults, were members of a German tourist group, the APA said.

    After the accident, a group of emergency workers and 12 helicopters were sent to the scene to launch a rescue operation.

    The cause of the accident, the worst of its kind in Austria's history, was under investigation. Enditem