The Bologna Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation for manslaughter against unknown persons following the tragedy on the tracks this morning at 4.30 am. Attilio Franzini, 47 years old, a specialized technician from Formia (Latina), died instantly when hit by an Intercity at night headed for Trieste on the Bologna-Venice, near San Giorgio di Piano. He worked for Salcef Group Spa, RFI’s contractor and, according to what the investigators have reconstructed so far, he was at the end of his shift and was not in the strictly work area where train circulation had been suspended. This morning’s accident occurred just over a year after the one in Brandizzo, which cost the lives of five workers. The investigations are conducted by the railway police, who intervened immediately after the events, and by the ASL technicians of the Emilian capital, who carried out an inspection.
According to initial findings by Polfer it was an accident and the man did not see the convoy arriving. The deputy prime minister and minister of transport, Matteo Salvini, and his deputy minister, Galeazzo Bignami, expressed “deep condolences”, assuring that they are “following the developments of what happened, starting from ascertaining the dynamics”.
The accident blocked train movement for almost four hours and only fully resumed in the morning. The mayor of San Giorgio di Piano, Paolo Crescimbeni, expressing his condolences, underlined: “Leaving your home, saying goodbye to your family and dying at work is unacceptable. We have over a thousand deaths a year and this is a problem that must be addressed , changing the mentality and working on the culture of safety”.
“While waiting for the judiciary to clarify what happened, even though the company in question is not unionised, to prevent these events from becoming the tragic normality” the Fiom-Cgil has proclaimed a four-hour strike at Salcef Group Spa, the company the victim worked for.
“It is yet another tragedy linked to the long chain of deaths at work that we record every day throughout the national territory” denounce Silvia Simoncini, Fiom-Cgil national secretary and health and safety manager and Samuele Lodi, Fiom-Cgil national secretary and sector manager mobility. The Emilia-Romagna acronyms also intervene and criticize “the outsourcing model of infrastructure maintenance which is not giving the desired results in terms of greater efficiency and safety”.
“We intend to say ‘Enough’ – comment the secretariats of the CGIL-CISL-UIL transport unions of Emilia-Romagna, together with Orsa -. While waiting for the competent authorities to carry out the necessary investigations to understand the dynamics of the facts , we ask ourselves the reason for all this. What didn’t work yet? It’s certainly not up to us to decide and we are certain that the judiciary will shed light on any responsibilities this time too, but at this point one wonders: Is this really the right path for our great Ferrovie dello Stato Group?”