IVREA – «We have been waiting for this trial for three years». The family members of the five workers who died in the Brandizzo massacre arrive today at the Ivrea court, where the preliminary hearing on the train accident of 30 August 2023 opens. Kevin Laganà, Michael Zanera, Giuseppe Sorvillo, Giuseppe Aversa and Giuseppe Saverio Lombardo were hit by a train while they were working on the tracks. More than three years after the massacre, the proceedings come to a head: 24 people are under investigation, including individuals and companies.
Family members: "We're sick"
The families enter the courthouse one at a time. They are tried, but they chose to be there. "We feel bad, it will be a long journey but we want justice," says Lidia Orastella, mother of Giuseppe Aversa. “We have been waiting for this trial for three years.” A phrase that accompanies the start of a long-awaited day, while family members and workers also arrive in front of the courthouse who want to be close to those who have lost a son, a husband, a brother.
Twenty-four suspects
There are 24 people under investigation, including individuals and companies. Among the main defendants are Antonio Massa, RFI's stock manager, and Andrea Girardin Gibin, foreman of Sigifer, the company for which the five workers worked. Also appearing in the investigation are Gianpiero Strisciuglio, now CEO of Fs and at the time of the events at the top of RFI, and Vera Fiorani, former CEO of RFI. RFi, Sigifer and Clf are also involved as companies under investigation.
The initial hypotheses of voluntary homicide with possible malice were then redefined by the Ivrea prosecutor's office as multiple manslaughter and negligent train disaster. The investigation is coordinated by the prosecutor Gabriella Viglione, together with the prosecutors Valentina Bossi and Giulia Nicodemi.
Brandizzo massacre: the phone calls from the escort leader, the confusion on the passing trains and the crash
The video, the audio and those minutes before the massacre
Among the central elements of the investigation are the video and audio recordings that reconstruct the minutes preceding the massacre. In a video Antonio Massa organizes the interruption of the line when the workers are already on the tracks. According to the prosecutor's office, the escort leader was aware of the presence of the team at work.
In the recordings between 11.27pm and 11.48pm, confusion emerges about the interruptions and train timetables. Massa confuses a convoy in transit with the last scheduled train and requests the interruption of the line "from 00.01 to 1.30", just a minute before the passage of the convoy that would have overwhelmed the workers.
After the accident, the operator tells him: "It wasn't the last train... you didn't even have the interruption yet."
“Entering the tracks before the interruption was standard practice”
During the investigations, testimonies emerged according to which entering the tracks before the technical interruption was not an isolated episode. A former Sigifer worker told investigators that workers were sent onto the tracks while trains continued to pass, to save time and avoid delays and penalties.
According to the reconstruction of the prosecutor's office, in the management of contracts and subcontracts the need to contain time and costs ended up affecting safety conditions. In the investigation documents there are also complaints about training: some safety courses, according to what emerged, were not actually carried out, while workers were asked to sign certificates relating to the training.
Another chapter concerns the 1.6 million euro subcontract awarded by CLF to Sigifer. According to the Ivrea prosecutor's office, no one would have verified the requirements of the company called to carry out the work and Sigifer would not have had the necessary requirements to obtain the contract.
Brandizzo massacre, a mother: "Nothing has been done for safety"
The family members of Viareggio: "Let's not leave them alone"
Also in front of the court are the relatives of the victims of the Viareggio train massacre, together with workers and associations involved in the issue of safety. They arrived to express solidarity with the families of Brandizzo and to draw attention to working conditions in the railway sector.
In a note signed by Railwaymen for safety, Pdm/Pdb Assembly, association of Viareggio family members «The world I would like», Assembly 29 June, Railwaymen against the war, Solidarity Fund between Railwaymen, CubRail magazine, Coordination 12 October for health and safety, Cub Trasporti, Sol Cobas and Sgb, the reorganization of work after Brandizzo is denounced and the risk of reducing maintenance, of personnel and safety measures falls on the workers.
Daniela Rombi, president of the association of families of the victims of Viareggio, explains the meaning of the presence in Ivrea: «We are here to give a caress to the families of Brandizzo, so as not to make them feel alone». Their judicial journey, he recalls, lasted 17 years.
“Life before profit”
Among the associations present there is also Security and Work. «We are here to stand next to the families and ask for answers, truth and justice», says director Massimiliano Quirico. “This process must reiterate that life comes before profit and that the dignity of workers cannot be sacrificed.”
Quirico thanks the prosecutor's office for organizing the hearing, but also points out the logistical difficulties: the two rooms connected by videoconference, he observes, make the participation of civil parties, prosecutors and lawyers more complicated. “We hope that during the trial the situation will improve.”
