“I thank the mayor of Torre Pellice for inviting everyone present to a minute’s silence to mourn the death of the five workers tonight,” Mattarella said, speaking at an event in Torre Pellice in Piemonte in memory of Italian politician Altiero Spinelli, considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
“Thank you mayor for this initiative that reminds us how important it is to protect work and workplace safety,” he added.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said prosecutors and technical experts are looking into the circumstances of the incident.
“The rule is that work on the tracks can only commence once it has been certified that there are no trains on the line,” he added.
Expressing her condolences to the families of the five victims, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for full light to be shed on the incident.
“I have learned with sorrow and sadness of the tragic death of the five workers who were hit by a train while carrying out maintenance work at Brandizzo railway station in the Turin area,” Meloni wrote on social media.
“I send my deepest condolences and sincere feelings of closeness to the families of the victims and their loved ones,” she added.
The prime minister said she was in regular contact with Piedmont Governor Alberto Cirio for updates “in the hope of shedding full light on the incident as soon as possible”.
Cirio, who was at Brandizzo early Thursday morning, described the incident as “an enormous tragedy that affects the whole Piemontese community,” adding that the five victims were all from the northwestern region.
“Above all, we are talking about something that is unacceptable, because one cannot lose one’s life at work,” said the governor.
Turin Mayor Stefano Lo Russo likewise described the incident as “truly inexplicable”.
“It is difficult to find the words to describe the emotion of this moment,” he said at the site of the incident.
“Five young men who were doing their job have lost their lives in a truly inexplicable way,” he added.
“We are here to express our proximity, in the hope that a full explanation will be provided. Unfortunately, this is yet another work-related tragedy to have struck this region,” Lo Russo concluded.
The regional train was believed to be travelling at 100 km/h at the moment of impact, police said. They had earlier reported it may have been going as fast as 160kph, but that has since been adjusted down.
Two workers survived unharmed and have now been released from hospital after being treated for shock.
Italy’s leading trades union confederation CGIL have announced a four-hour national strike of railway employees responsible for the management and the execution of infrastructure maintenance on Friday.
“Indignation and condolences are no longer enough, it is time to act, this massacre must be stopped immediately,” CGIL General Secretary Maurizio Landini said, also announcing two other local strikes in Vercelli and Piemonte on Monday.
ANSA
