At the first light of dawn it emerges in flames from the Santa Lucia tunnel, just outside Salerno, the special train 1681 coming from Piacenza. As soon as he enters the Salerno train station there is a coming and going of ambulances, firefighters, screams, loud crying and heavy silences. While the air spreadsacrid smell of smoke. It is the dramatic epilogue of an affair that began badly, was handled badly and ended worse in which four young Salernitana fans lost their lives: Ciro Alfieri, 16 years old, Giuseppe Diodato, 21 years old, Vincenzo Lioi, 15 years old and Simone Vitale, 22 years oldson of Giovanni, a journalist and historian from Salernitana who was among the first to reach the site of the disaster and who recognized his boyfriend among the victims.
It all began the day before, Sunday 23rd, when further 1500 Salernitana fans they go away to Piacenza to attend Piacenza-Salernitana, the last match of the championship, the decisive one for the permanence of the Granata team in Serie A. But the match ends in a draw, a result which unfortunately decrees Salernitana’s relegation in series B. At the end of the game they occur various clashes between opposing fans and footballers and the police must intervene to restore calm on the pitch and in the stands. The Granata supporters are led out of the Garilli stadium to Piacenza station where a special train is waiting for them to return to Salerno. It’s about a convoy made up of 13 carriages, very long but not enough for the number of fans it had to bring, so much so that three more cars were added in Bologna. They are provided for the escort 12 police officersdefinitely too few for how the situation is degenerating.
In fact, all kinds of disturbances immediately break out on board which cause a considerable delay in departure: the train manages to leave Piacenza at around 11pm instead of the scheduled time, 8.04pm. During the trip, acts of vandalism multiply. The fire extinguishers are unhinged and dumped, the seats are torn and the windows are broken. The train is also often stopped due to improper operation of the emergency brake. In the Bologna station some troublemakers attack the bar and then stock up on stones which they then throw along the route causing damage in Grizzana Morandi, Prato, Florence Campo di Marte and Roma Tiburtina. At this station the convoy has a technical stop but is restarted almost immediately because an intense stone-throwing is undertaken.
In Nocera Inferiore stones are thrown at homes and vehicles and, finally, inside the Galleria Santa Lucia it explodes a fire in the fifth car that makes up the convoy. According to some sources it was the explosion of a smoke bomb, but much more likely some troublemakers, perhaps the same as those involved in the hooliganism episodes during the trip, thought of a diversion so as not to be identified upon arrival. The idea is to get it to the station the train on fireto distract attention and escape undisturbed.
But something goes wrong. The air flow present in the very long tunnel is not taken into account, which in a short time with the speed of the train causes the fire to grow out of all proportion and with it the toxic fumes. As if that wasn’t enough, someone pulls the emergency brake when the convoy has not yet reached the exit. The stagehands manage to carry on as long as they can while many fans, to escape the fire which has become infernal, they jump out of the windows, injuring themselves and starting to run. Not everyone, however, manages to escape the appointment with destiny. In the drama, the four very young Salernitana fans lose their lives and are probably overwhelmed by the toxic fumes before being finally overcome by the flames. The investigations will lead to the arrest of three people with sentences ranging from 8 months to 8 years. Since that sad day, trips organized with the special trains of the State Railways have been suspended indefinitely. And from that day every 24th of May is in Salerno day of city mourning in memory of an absurd, avoidable tragedy.
