The Head of State, with the Presidents of the Chamber and Senate, gather around the victims of the tragedy that claimed the lives of 32 people.
Viareggio – On June 29, 2009, a freight train with 14 cars loaded with LPG derailed from the tracks near the Viareggio station, causing the flammable material to leak out. An explosion followed, followed by a large fire that engulfed the station, cars, and surrounding homes. Thirty-two people died and 25 others were injured in the massacre. “Safety is an essential prerequisite, as well as a primary right of citizens and users,” said the President of the Republic Sergio Matterella.
It was the 23.49 of 29 June 2009, when a convoy with 14 wagons loaded with LPG tanks derailed near the Viareggio railway station. The train, according to judicial reconstructions, would have hit an obstacle at high speed causing the one of the tanks overturned on its side. A large quantity of liquid propane gas escaped from the tank, which was punctured during the impact and engulfed the tracks and the houses overlooking the railway line, particularly those in via Ponchielli. The LPG leak triggered an explosion and, later, a fire which involved the station and several buildings in the surrounding area. In serious accident killed a total of 32 people. Another 25 people were injured as a result of the explosion and fire.
The wagons, loaded with LPG which were to be delivered to the company Aversana Petroleumwere routed along the internal siding track that connects the refinery Sarpom of San Martino of Trecate (in the province of Novara) to the national railway network by FS Logistica, which would then have to deal with the safety verification operations. Once at the Novara station, the various wagons were coupled to the traction vehicle and, in the afternoon, the convoy left, with more than an hour’s delay compared to the scheduled time, towards the Gricignano-Teverola stationin the province of Caserta.
Arrived at the freight yard of Novara Boschettothe train reversed and, after the usual checks, set off again southwards along the Milan-Turin, Turin-Genoa and Genoa-Pisa routes. Near the Viareggio station the first tank car derailed from the tracks, also dragging four other carriages with it. Due to the impact with the railway infrastructure, a gash opened on the first wagon from which the gpl which, due to a spark, caused the explosion. Il vast fire which flared up following the explosion and quickly enveloped the surrounding area, hitting the train station, cars and homes.
Eleven people died within minutes, hit by flames or overwhelmed by the collapse of buildings. Two others lost their lives to heart attacks and dozens remained wounds (many of which with very serious burns). Most died in hospital in the following weeks to the accident. The two train drivers, however, managed to save themselves by jumping from a wall near the tracks. After the accident, a long phase of investigations, conducted by the Lucca Prosecutor’s Office. In 2017 they were convicted at first instance Michael Mario EliaCEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (7 years and 3 sentences in prison), Mauro Morettiformer CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (7 years), and Vincenzo Sopranoformer CEO of Trenitalia (7 years and 6 months). The companies Gatx, Officine Jungenthal and Cima Riparazioni were also accused of liability.
“On the night of June 29, 2009, Viareggio was injured by the consequences of a train disaster which, today as then, seems unacceptable to us – we read in the message of Head of State -. The images and memory of that tragedy remain indelible. On the fifteenth anniversary, the Republic is close to the relatives who saw their loved ones unexpectedly taken from life and who, in pain, were able to start a civil process to ascertain the responsibilities of what happened and to promote, everywhere, greater safety in transport”. “The infrastructure networks, and among these the railways, are an essential condition for the life and economic development of the country – continues Mattarella -. Security is an indispensable prerequisite, as well as being a primary right of citizens and users. The established standards cannot be derogated from, indeed the level of safety must be raised through controls and technologies more effective and a general growth in awareness”.
On social the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the train disaster he wanted to remember with “The 32 victims are deeply moved and address their families and all
the community of Viareggio, the most heartfelt embrace. I would also like to thank the Association ‘Il mondo che vorrei’ for the passion and generosity that have always distinguished his tireless civic commitmentsocial and cultural alongside families, citizens and institutions so that the pain, fear and dismay at a tragedy that we cannot and must not forget, continue to guide us in building a safer future.”
The president of the Chamber of Deputies echoes him, Lorenzo Fontana: “Fifteen years later – he says – the pain of the Viareggio massacre remains indelible. We unite in the memory of the victims, of the excruciating suffering who have suffered, in closeness to their families and to those who have been permanently affected by that tragedy. The events in Viareggio continually challenge us and remain a constant reminder of the importance of safety, of prevention and maintenance of infrastructure”.
And fifteen years later, with the process – technically speaking, it’s not finished yet: thirteen convictions are certain, for 12 defendants we just need to recalculate the sentence – still ongoing, it is quite impressive to retrace those hours that made the history not only of Viareggio but of our country. There emotion there is today. Like then. In a flash, pass by the city bagatelles, to the dead, injured, missing, devastation, desperation, boundless pain and the stillicide of the following days it was one devastating shock also for the reporters called to work in the field.
