A JUDGE yesterday cleared of criminal negligence 16 people accused over an alpine cable car fire that killed 155 people.

The families of 155 people killed more than three years ago in a cable car inferno at an Alpine resort are awaiting a verdict in the trial of officials and technicians suspected of failing to ensure the safety of their passengers.

Witnesses to a cable car inferno that killed 155 people at a resort high in the Austrian Alps awaited the end of an 18-month-long trial with a mixture of anger and resignation today.