The Merano derailment occurred on 12 April 2010 when a train derailed between
Latsch and
Kastelbell, near
Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, after running into a
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.
Accident
At 9:03
local time (7:03
UTC), a two passenger coach
Stadler GTW train, operated by STA Südtiroler, derailed in Kastelbell-Tschars after running into a landslide.
[The Guardian : 12 April 2010 : ''Passengers Killed as Italian Landslide Derails Train'']
Retrieved 13 April 2010 Nine people died when the train derailed, and 28 others were injured, seven seriously.
The landslide which reportedly derailed the train is believed to have been caused by a burst irrigation pipe, or by a valve inadvertently left open. The train was on a regional service,
travelling between
Mals and
Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...
,
[ on the Vinschgau line, which reopened in 2005.]Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an agree ...
television said smoke was rising from the wreckage and helicopters were flying overhead.['']Corriere della Sera
The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015.
First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
'', 13 April 2010, p.2
An investigation is underway into why the irrigation pipe burst. The local aqueduct consortium denies the possibility that the landslide was caused by the pipe, as it is a small pipe (65 mm diameter), and was working perfectly until about 8:00 CEST.
Victims
The victims were 9, all local:
- Michaela Kuenz Oberhofer, 18, born in 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
in Martello and there resident;
- Judith Tappeiner, 20, born in 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
in Schlanders and there resident;
- Elisabeth Peer, 22, born in 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
in Schlanders, resident in Mals;
- Julian Hartmann, 25, train driver, born in 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
in Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...
and there resiedent;
- Michaela Zöschg, 34, born in 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
in Prad am Stilfser Joch
Prad am Stilfser Joch (; it, Prato allo Stelvio ), often abbreviated to Prad, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about west of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Switzerland, and near the Stelvio Pass.
...
and there resident in the fraction of Agumes;
- Rosina Offner, 36, born in 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
in Schlanders, resident in Taufers im Münstertal;
- Francesco Rieger, 67, born in 1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 – ...
in Kastelbell-Tschars
Kastelbell-Tschars (; it, Castelbello-Ciardes ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northwest of Bolzano.
Geography
As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 2,387 and an area of .All demographics ...
and there resident;
- Regina Tschöll, 73, born in 1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
in Laas ad there resident;
- Franz Hohenegger, 73, born in 1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
in Schlanders and there resident
References
External links
Photographs of the accident (BBC) Interactive graphic of the accident (La Repubblica)Video (Corriere TV)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merano Train Derailment
2010 in Italy
History of South Tyrol
Railway accidents in 2010
Derailments in Italy
April 2010 events in Italy