Castel Bolognese train disaster

[1] The Diretto 152 night train between Bari and Milan derailed at 1:56 a.m. shortly before entering the station, killing 13 and wounding 127.

A special speed limitation of 30 km/h (19 mph) had been enforced by means of an M40 mandatory alert, but the fixed signals reported condition normal and the train failed to slow down.

A shipment of truffles received minor damage, but its strong smell became a distinctive memory for the emergency responders.

The third car, a Corbellini coach [it], was thrown into a nearby field, part of Podere Borgo farmland, with minor injuries to the occupants.

Chief Shunter Romano Corelli managed to break the right-hand glass of the cabin, smashing it with a stone and allowing the engineers to flee the crushed cockpit.

No central emergency management existed at the time in Italy, so rescue was provided mostly by volunteers and nearby hospital, with little coordination.

[2] After more people from a nearby town joined the efforts, searching for survivors and removing the deceased from the wreck, railwaymen Balestrazzi and Monti begun work on re-establishing the northern track to get the railway back to at least minimal service condition.

The dog lived in the station, but was terrorized by the tracks [4] Blame was put on engineer Ennio Covacci, who was found guilty of multiple involuntary killing.