Five hotel workers on the island resort of Bali died on Friday after the cable of a lift they were travelling in snapped, plunging them into a ravine, reported Indonesian media.

The incident took place at around 1pm on Friday at the Ayuterra Resort in the Ubud district.

The workers – two men and three women – had gone into the hotel’s glass-encased lift that runs on a track up a 35-degree slope when the steel cable suddenly failed, plunging them 100m down a steep embankment.

The workers have been identified as Sang Putu Bayu Adi Krisna, 19, Wayan Aries Setiawan, 23, Ni Luh Superningsih, 20, Kadek Hardiyanti, 24, and Kadek Yanti Pradewi, 19.

They were all from the hotel’s housekeeping department.

Mr Ketut Suwiarta, a cook at the hotel, said he heard screams shortly after the five entered the lift, followed by crashing sounds.

He saw the broken cable and rushed to help the victims, as well as call the authorities.

The victims, three of whom were still breathing, were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they died moments later.

Ubud police chief Made Uder said the police are looking into why the cable snapped.

Preliminary investigations showed that the cable broke because the lift was too heavy.

“It is possible that the steel cable was not strong enough to pull the load and the safety wedge or brake does not work,” Tribune News quoted Mr Uder as saying.

The police are also looking into possible negligence and if the incident was due to a lack of maintenance.

Resort owner Linggawati Utomo expressed her condolences to the victims’ families.

“All costs for funeral rites and burial will be borne by us. We will also give the families some compensation,” she said.