Guessing the solenoid got stuck at short-circuit current, then burned out and failed shorted. Which toasted the NTC, and hopefully there was a fuse that opened as well, but I guess too late to save the NTC.
The way an AC solenoid works, the current draw is very large when open, and less when closed. The extra current draw means the force vs. distance curve isn't as dramatically skewed as bare magnets (which go something like the inverse cube of distance). It's more of a constant force, plus some extra grab when the armature seats fully. But if it never closes, well...
And if there isn't a fuse... melting NTCs isn't a good idea...
you should strongly consider adding one! (Anywhere is good, inline with the solenoid for instance. Any old inline fuse holder, rated for AC mains insulation, will do the job. Ideally, it should be upstream, towards the mains input side of the NTC, or whatever's switching it (relay contacts?), on the HOT wire. And if this is inside a bit of industrial kit, maybe there's opportunity to add a fuse block to a panel or DIN rail?)
Tim