Balvano train disaster
| Balvano train disaster | |
|---|---|
Some of the corpses gathered in the Balvano railway station | |
| Details | |
| Date | 3 March 1944 after 00:50 |
| Location | Balvano, Basilicata |
| Country | Kingdom of Italy |
| Line | Battipaglia–Metaponto railway |
| Operator | Ferrovie dello Stato |
| Incident type | Carbon monoxide poisoning |
| Cause | excessive weight; bad quality coal; lack of natural ventilation in the tunnel |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Deaths | 517 (official figure by Italian government) |
| Injured | 90 poisoned |
The Balvano train disaster occurred on the night between 2–3 March 1944 in Balvano, Basilicata, when 517 people in a steam-hauled, coal-burning freight train (mostly stowaways) died of carbon monoxide poisoning during a protracted stall in a tunnel. It was the deadliest railway accident in Italian history and one of the worst railway disasters ever.