Alfredo Rampi

Alfredo Rampi (11 April 1975 – 13 June 1981), nicknamed Alfredino (Little Alfredo), was an Italian child who died after falling into a well in Vermicino, a village near Frascati, on 10 June 1981.

Incident

Around 19:00 on 10 June 1981, 6-year-old Alfredo was out on a walk with his family. When the family decided to return home, he asked his parents if he could walk alone. As the child wandered by himself, he fell into an artesian well. The well was about wide and deep. His position, on arrival of the first rescuers, was estimated at around below ground level.

The first rescuers were the local firefighters, who initially tried to lower a simple tablet attached to a rope. The hope was that Alfredo could grab the tablet and hold on to it as the men would pull him out. However, the tablet got stuck before it could reach the boy. The firefighters could not pull the tablet back out because the rope tore. The tablet blocked the exit. Next, three speleologists tried to lower themselves into the well upside-down, attempting to at least remove the tablet, but this failed because the passage was too narrow for an adult to go that deep.

As time was passing, commander of the Rome fire department Elveno Pastorelli ordered everyone to ignore the tablet and concentrate on digging up a wider, parallel shaft beside the well. The plan was to bore a tunnel as deep as and then a connecting horizontal corridor that would allow rescuers to reach the boy from below. Efforts intensified and heavy machinery was brought to the site. However, there were layers of hard rock that required the use of extreme impact tools. These tools shook the area, causing the boy to slip an estimated further down the well. The parallel tunnel was only away from the well.

The drama caused unprecedented media attention, as the live broadcast on television went on for 18 hours nonstop. RAI, Italian public television, recorded audiences of 21 million people at peak times. The Italian President at the time, Sandro Pertini, personally visited the scene.

As rescue attempts became more desperate, Angelo Licheri, a volunteer, was secured and lowered into the well to try to save Alfredo. He did manage to reach him and tried to secure a harness around him to pull him out, but failed. None of the further attempts to save him had success; in fact, he only slipped down lower and lower.

After many hours, Alfredo's voice (relayed by a microphone) was getting weaker and he is thought to have died around 6:30 on 13 June 1981. Another volunteer, Donato Caruso, realized that he was dead while trying once again to secure a harness on him. His body was finally recovered on 11 July, a month after his death.

Subsequently, Alfredo's mother, Franca Rampi, founded the Rampi Centre to organise citizen's groups to improve emergency rescue work in Italy.

Media furor

The attempted rescue was a major media event. It was the first time in Italy that a live outside broadcast had attracted millions of people to follow the events on TV. Initially, images were transmitted live because it was believed that there would be a quick and positive outcome. After some time the situation appeared to be slowly worsening, but it was too late to interrupt the transmissions. It posed many questions about privacy and the ethics of broadcasting such events which sparked a widespread public debate. The story also made the international news, with a BBC Headlines broadcast carrying the story of a rescue attempt as its top headline on 12 June.

Mystery surrounding the accident

Later, some speculation arose surrounding the circumstances of the accident. During Alfredo's autopsy, he was found to be wearing a harness. Whilst being questioned by the police, Licheri said he had placed it on Alfredo when he was falling in the hope it might be used to save him. This theory was challenged by the fire brigade, who use a similar harness, stating it would have been virtually impossible to have put it on him in the confines of the well. The judge of the case speculated he may have been lowered into the well, rather than falling in by accident. The investigations were, however, suspended as reaching a verdict was impossible.

Lasting impact

Italian alternative rock band Baustelle wrote a song about the tragedy. The song, "Alfredo," is track 10 on their 2008 album ''Amen''. Among other prizes, ''Amen'' won that year's "Targa Tenco," one of the most prestigious music acknowledgments in Italy.

See also

* Kathy Fiscus
* Jessica McClure
* Julen Roselló
* Rayan Aourram (2016 or 2017–2022), a Moroccan child who fell into a well and died

References

External links

Today in History: June 10
MSNBC article mentioning the story

"Too Deep" article in The American Magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rampi, Alfredo
1975 births
1981 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in Italy
Italian children
People from Frascati
Well-related accidents and incidents
Accidental child deaths