Italian cable car crash suspects released from jail

Three men who were arrested for the Italian cable car crash that killed 14 people were released from jail overnight, after a judge found a "total lack of evidence" against two of them, officials said Sunday.

Service manager Gabriele Tadini was put under house arrest, while technical director Enrico Perocchio and the head of the cable car operating company, Luigi Nerini, were released.

All three remain under investigation for the tragedy.

In Italy, judges must approve continued detention of suspects and usually order pre-trial detention only under special circumstances, for example when the accused is a flight risk.

The three men were detained Wednesday after Tadini admitted to investigators that he had deactivated an emergency brake system that could have prevented the crash.

He said he did it because the system was malfunctioning and had halted service several times, and insisted that he acted in agreement with the two other suspects. 

But judge Donatella Banci Bonamici found a "total lack of evidence against Nerini and Perocchio", according to a ruling quoted by the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday. 

According to the judge, Tadini tried to shift some of the blame on his...