The haste to start work and the human errors behind the Brandizzo massacre cost the lives of five workers overwhelmed and killed by a train while carrying out work on the railway line.
As reported by Corriere, the testimonies before the prosecutors reveal a practice used by the workers to circumvent the prohibitions and finish the works earlier. Whole crews got to work on the tracks before the agreed times and studied an "on sight" alarm system. A colleague had the task of watching the railway and sounding the alarm: "If there is a train, I warn you and you get off".
Antonio Veneziano, a former colleague of the victims, confirmed this reconstruction on Tg1: "It happened several times, we went to the platform to hurry up the work".
The prosecutors also heard what is considered the key witness of the investigation, a 25-year-old railway employee: from the Chivasso control room on the evening of August 30, the young woman kept in touch with her colleague on site, she issued warnings that went unheeded.
"I said it three times - he told the prosecutors -, the work shouldn't have started because the passage of a train was expected". A very useful deposition to clarify the facts of the tragedy.
(Unioneonline/L)