Preliminary hearing for the Brandizzo railway disaster (September 2026)
At the Ivrea court, the preliminary hearing opens for the Brandizzo railway disaster of 30 August 2023, in which five Sigifer workers died. Twenty-one defendants and the companies Rfi, Sigifer and Clf are committed for trial.
Related articles: Cgil Piemonte, Trade unions join as civil parties in the Brandizzo massacre trial, «Work Demands Justice» Initiative by Cgil Piemonte for the Third Anniversary of the Brandizzo Massacre (September 2026)
Pages linking here
- Cgil Piemonte
- Unions join as civil parties in the trial for the Brandizzo disaster
- Cgil Piemonte's «Work demands justice» initiative for the third anniversary of the Brandizzo disaster (September 2026)
Cgil's "Work demands justice" initiative on the disaster's third anniversary (24 September 2026)
On 24 September 2026, on the eve of the preliminary hearing, Cgil Piemonte, Cgil Torino, Filt Cgil and Fillea Cgil organise in Brandizzo, in Piazza Carlo Tempia, with the sponsorship of the municipality, the initiative "Work demands justice" marking the third anniversary of the disaster that killed five workers struck by a train. Speakers include, among others, Cgil Torino's general secretary Federico Bellono, Brandizzo's mayor Monica Durante, Lidia Orastella, mother of victim Giuseppe Aversa, and Cgil Piemonte's general secretary Giorgio Airaudo, who states: "We have not forgotten and we will not resign ourselves [...] we are afraid it could happen again and we will not stay silent."
Union initiative "Work demands justice" on the third anniversary (24 September 2026)
Fillea Cgil Piemonte's secretary Massimo Cogliandro calls for free legal aid for victims' families facing financial hardship, while Filt Cgil Piemonte's secretary Giuseppe Santomauro points out that, after the disaster, the commitments made by Rfi on reorganising rail maintenance were not accompanied by the necessary hiring.
The Laganà family's dispute over compensation to Kevin's mother
On 30 September 2026, at the opening of the preliminary hearing, it emerges that the biological mother of one of the victims, Kevin Laganà, is among the roughly fifteen victims' relatives already compensated by Rfi before the trial began, with amounts covered by confidentiality agreements. The father, Massimo, and the brother, Antonino Laganà, who did not join the woman in becoming civil parties, dispute the compensation: "It's disgraceful because this woman did not raise us," says Antonino, recalling that the mother had abandoned Kevin when he was two years old.[1]
The dispute over compensation to Kevin Laganà's birth mother
The father, Massimo Laganà, and the brother, Antonino Laganà, assisted by lawyer Enrico Calabrese, denounce the circumstance, stressing that the woman had abandoned Kevin when he was two years old, and asking to join the trial as civil parties.
The Laganà family also criticises how the preliminary hearing is being conducted in Ivrea, with proceedings split between two video-linked courtrooms and insufficient space for lawyers and victims' relatives.
Sources
- ANSA Piemonte — 29 September 2026
- CronacaQui Torino — 29 September 2026
- ANSA Piemonte — 18 September 2026
- TorinoOggi — 22 September 2026
- TorinoToday — 1 October 2026