Date in year · 2021 · The 2020s

May 23, 2021

On May 23, 2021, a cable car falls from a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, killing 14 people. The year's #1 song was "Levitating" by Dua Lipa. Princess Lilibet of Sussex, Princess Lilibet of Sussex, Princess Lilibet of Sussex would arrive in the same year.

Events

2

Births

0

Deaths

2

Year

2021

2020s

Around 2021

The year in brief

2021 (MMXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2021st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 21st year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 2nd year of the 2020s decade.

Read the full year of 2021 →

What happened

On May 23, 2021

  1. 2021 A cable car falls from a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, killing 14 people.

    2021 cable car disaster in Piedmont, Italy

    On 23 May 2021, an aerial tram on the Stresa–Alpino–Mottarone Cable Car crashed to the ground after a traction or haulage cable snapped about five metres (16 ft) from the summit of Mottarone, a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Normally, a hydraulic safety brake would have stopped the runaway car immediately but the cable car was operating illegally with the brake disabled. The crash killed fourteen passengers in the cable car, and seriously injured one child.

  2. 2021 Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

    2021 aviation incident in Belarus

    Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by Buzz, a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair. On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, it was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport due to alleged claims of a Hamas bombing attempt, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his then girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities. The aircraft was allowed to depart after seven hours, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours behind schedule.

Farewells

Died on May 23, 2021

Ron Hill British long-distance runner (1938–2021)
Eric Carle American author and illustrator (1929–2021)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 2021

The class of 2021

Others born in 2021

Princess Lilibet of Sussex 2021–
Princess Lilibet of Sussex 2021–
Princess Lilibet of Sussex 2021–
Princess Lilibet of Sussex 2021–

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