The Balvano Train Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- "On the 3rd of March, 1944, a coal-powered freight train approached the entrance of the Armi tunnel, near the town of Balvano in Italy..."
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Background
04:31 - The Balvano Train Disaster
08:36 - The Aftermath
MUSIC:
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory
SOURCES:
► “Titanic of train disasters: Italy finally commemorates hushed-up wartime tragedy that killed more than 600 people” by Nick Squires, published by the Telegraph, March 2017. Link: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...
► “Italy: Death Train” published by Time Magazine, April 1951. Link: content.time.com/time/subscri...
► “The Fate of the Black Market Express” by John Wolford, published by HubPages, April 2019. Link: discover.hubpages.com/educati...
► “Balvano” by Antonio Bruno, published by Terredamare, June 2022. Link: terredamare.com/comuni/balvano
► “The Balvano Disaster” published by Italy on This Day, March 2021. Link: www.italyonthisday.com/2021/0...
#Documentary #History #TrueStories
I never knew how much Italians suffered during the war until I stayed with a family in the 1980s... we roasted chestnuts from the local forests and the mother said that they reminded her of the war, as she would come home from school in the autumn and all there was to eat was locally-harvested chestnuts.
I worked with a Italian Chef that had survived WW2 as a child. He would keep food in the fridge WAY beyond the expiry date because he had starved before and it was imprinted into him that it COULD happen again. RIP Leo and thank you for the skills you taught me.
Chestnuts used to be a huge thing in North America too. Chestnuts were even used as a currency in some regions, and the wood was legendary for its rot resistance. Chestnuts had woven themselves into the american culture, songs, and literature. Then, some imported chestnut trees from asia carried a fungal blight to america. In the first half of the 20th century, the fungal blight killed an estimated 4 billion trees, the equivalent of 9 million acres of American chestnut trees. The american chestnut trees never recovered, though there's been recent efforts in Canada to develop a more blight-resistant species, albeit unsuccessfully.
I knew an elderly German lady who refused to have the house connected to town water or electricity. During the war, Hitler used it as a coercion tool, as in "Do as I say or I'll cut off your electricity." Her sister went to a concentration camp. She turned her dining room into a pantry so she could keep more supplies. She was terrified of it happening again because to her eyes it came out of nowhere.
@@hotlavatube I think they have a hybrid that has more american chestnut in it than the other type, that is doing ok, but I'd love to see the 100% be able to thrive again. There have been stumps that send shoots out and grow a couple years, then the blight kills the new growth, but the tree keeps trying. Eventually it gives up. I remember seeing some of these. I saw one that gave up finally after so many years of observation. All the old houses and many of the barns built before the blight have chestnut beams in them. There are a lot of old beams that have been salvaged as well. I see having some as holding a sacred object, or being in a house or barn with sacred wood in it.
According to some accounts I've read, in Naples people often subsisted on fish out of aquariums, and something like half the women took up prostitution.
Small mercy for the people asleep - they never knew about it 😔
I was gonna say the same. It sucks they died, but at least there wasn't suffering. I suppose panic for those who understood, but not like burning alive or something.
It's the only consolation in the whole affair, I'm glad it wouldn't have been traumatic or painful for the sleeping people. I'm so sad that so many of their families couldn't get any justice, compensation or even to bury their loved one with dignity.
Yeah, when you hear "mass-casualty railway disaster inside a tunnel" there are way worse images that come to mind. Still awful, though.
I do agree. A small consolation, but fortunately they didn't suffer.
Reminds me of the Lake Nyos disaster, where a giant CO2 plume came out of a lake in the middle of the night. Most people were asleep and never woke up. Actually this is why smoke detectors are so important, the amount of smoke it takes to wake you up vs suffocate you is *very* slim.
What an absolute tragedy. Just goes to show how far-reaching the consequences of war can be.
Yes. And if it’s like this for ordinary citizens, you can imagine how much worse it is for the incarcerated. This is exactly why my grandma almost died in Auschwitz. And if she had died like so many others her body would have never been found unlike all of these bodies in the tunnel.
And citizens are never immune.
War dictates our lives. Accept it. Money talks
@@The20thHijackerthe people of Gaza are incarcerated in the world’s largest concentration camp and are being killed at a rate not seen since WWII
@@The20thHijacker I agree the camps would have been among the worst fates in history and far worse than this. Your grandmother was a survivor. Thanks for sharing that.
Bit of extra info: One of the survivor's hair turned completely gray due to the poisoning. Another was deemed mentally incompetent due to the severity of the poisoning. A relative of two of the victims erected a memorial in Belvano and one newspaper printed about the disaster but it was moreso a blurb due to the war
It feels extra tragic that things could've ended differently, if it only hadn't been for the detail that the front train crew couldn't communicate with their back end train crew.
I wonder if the tunnel lacked ventshafts. Normally any British railway tunnel would have a line of vertical shafts on top for ventilation. I only know of one incident where a train crew were overcome by fumes - on a goods train, which meant that the loss of life was much less severe than it would have been with a passenger train.
@@crazyleyland5106 Although this too was a goods train, in theory. The quality of the coal was partly to blame, producing far more CO than normal - and the UK had access to very high quality coal from its own deposits (particularly Welsh steam coal) while steam locomotives ran the railways, even during wartime, so perhaps events like this were less likely.
Italy's railways owed a lot to UK construction methods and engineers, too; there's a huge bronze plaque in the National Railway Museum in York, presented from the Italian railways to the British in 1925 and featuring George Stephenson, commemorating the fact. So it would be surprising if the tunnel lacked ventilation of any sort. But I don't know for sure.
@@cooperised I have noticed our heritage and main line steam charters are now producing dark smoke a lot more than they ever did , thanks to the poorer coal we no have to import. even with air shafts it still got thick in our tunnels so can imagine how bad it must of been when this accident happened
There seldom was in those days communication between driver and guard when the train was on the move.
@@crazyleyland5106 That occurred in Combe Down Tunnel, near Bath. It was only single track and just over a mile long. It was by far the longest tunnel in Britain without a ventilation shaft.
I first learned of this in the 90s from a $2 book on disasters that I loved to read. It had a mere paragraph dedicated to it and I have barely seen any info on it since. Thanks for telling the full, detailed story of this tragedy.
That reminds, a good topic for a video would be the Slapton Sands Exercise Tiger. Another wartime disaster that had to be heavily censored until years later.
I love how much humanity and empathy you put into your videos of these tragedies.
How many children or siblings waited for a loved one to return with food? Such a tragedy.
I can understand the need and desire to find a possible single factor responsible for a tragedy and fix it. However, sometimes you just have to accept it was a result of many factors and put it down in this case to the fog of war. You are not always going to get the full story and closure and sometimes have to move on.
Another sympathetic and well presented view of a terrible event.
Yep, as they say in air disasters, the holes in the Swiss cheese lined up just right.
Yeah. It's not really anyone's fault.
The "passengers" weren't actually meant to be there, so it's their fault.
The government took food and supplies away, so it's their fault.
The train drivers didn't apply enough power to get through the tunnel, so it's their fault.
The timing of having a previous train fill the tunnel with smoke caused it, so it's the railway signaller's fault....
You could go on to blame basically half of Italy really. At the end of the day, it was a matter of a dozen of so unfortunately related circumstances that no one noticed would align into a tragedy.
@@tin2001That's why accountability matters. We live in a world of corrupt elitists that want us all dead. The feeling is mutual.
@@Face2theScr33n🍽
I suppose with all the upheaval that Italy experienced around about this time period it's perhaps not suprising that this tragedy likely didn't get the attention that it deserved
As he said, it was heavily censored. There are many incidents where this sort of thing happened. A good example is the Kyshtym nuclear disaster, which was very serious and yet was covered up.
The "Spanish Flu" first began its spread among soldiers at camps in the United States, having jumped to humans from birds or pigs in the Midwest. That was carefully hushed up, as was the full Impact of the pandemic in the civilian population. The disease was known as "Spanish" because Spain was the only country whose newspapers admitted that it was present: they were a neutral country and censored less heavily, Fascism notwithstanding.
The deadliest rail accidents seem to happen in wartime. On top of the deliberate killing, wartime is such a fertile field for unintentional accidents.
One of Germany's deadliest rail disasters happened just two months into the war. And then Britain had the horrifying Quintinshill disaster, which involved FIVE trains and still ranks as their deadliest, during WW1.
@@andyjay729 I don't think anything topped the Modane Rail Crash of 1917 for horror - and spectacle. Imagine that train careening down that mountain, out of control...
@@bertilliozephyrsgate6196 Has FH covered that disaster yet?
Apologies, just read the earlier comment. The worst UK rail accident occurred during the First World War at Quintinshill, Scotland. One of the trains involved was a troop train and many ❤ were killed.
A story in history that I never would have heard of unless I had never subscribed to FH years ago. This was fascinating 👌
A series of unfortunate events suffocating people in a tunnel is not a thing I would ever expect from a railway disaster. What a tragedy.
Not sure if this is a sarcastic comment, but I believe he's already covered the mountain trams that got stuck in a tunnel on fire and suffocated like 100 skiers
Right. If tunnels can't be claustrophobic enough! Add this to the list. Especially if you're on a train.😬
really? it's happened many times.
@@Mike.The.Jeweler I know what happened in Kaprun. I still didn't expect a tunnel turning into an impromptu gas chamber when I started this video.
@@cindys.9688 This exact scenario is thankfully very improbable with today's electric trains.
Children at home, waiting for a parent who will never return, not knowing what had happened to them...possibly never learning at all due to the censorship. Possibly starving further as a result. That is the real tragedy.
No, it's just part of it.
I suggested this topic!! Thank you so much for doing it. I think three people lived. One was a black market dealer who escaped before authorities could question him. One person lived because he wrapped his scarf around head and it filtered some of the carbon monoxide. One of the men was too brain damaged to understand his wife and son died that day. A side effect of the carbon monoxide poisoning was it turned his hair from a rich black to a soapy colored grey. I absolutely love your videos!!
Yeah I suggested it too so it must have gotten a lot of up votes lol.
This disaster s why both the Cascade and Moffat Tunnels have *VERY* extensive exhaust fan systems installed when the tunnels were built to quickly remove the deadly exhaust from locomotives when they were built originally.
That's really interesting. Glad to hear this safety feature has been implemented. Thank you for sharing this info.
700 passengers wouls have added approximately 50tonnes more to the already overloaded train.
While I think you have slightly over estimated the weight, I agree the extra weight could have made a difference.
Normally it would be more, but since they were undernourished due to the war, that's probably a good estimate.
They probably each carried a nag with items to barter with and a few personal items.
I absolutely love your videos… I’ve never seen a better take on tragedy… Thank you so much
Best content, period. Facts, anecdotal stories and witnesses own stories. Please keep this channel alive and bustling.
I’m never dissatisfied with info,
Narration or mild commentary for survivor stories. You channel is top notch. Thank you.
Every Tuesday morning about half past 10 coffee and fascinating horror traditional now for about 3 years
A perfect combination
What?
Who?
Makes you wonder how many other tragedies were kept secret under the guise of “morale”. At least most were asleep. Those poor families left behind never getting acknowledgment or compensation. Just more daily suffering.
FH, this might be your best one yet! Not only is your de rigeur excellence in full play, but the subject- the deadliest *train* disaster?! It had never crossed my mind to think there was such a thing! And certainly not in Italy during WW2!
Except that I'm not sure it is. Wikipedia puts it 8th, though it depends on what you count as a rail disaster.
Another of the top ones would be the Quintishill crash - which involved a WWI troop train.
Wasn't the Uta(sp?) disaster in Russia more lethal?
@@alistairmackintosh9412 Yes. If you want to restrict it just to events involving the trains and tracks themselves, without natural disasters or trackside factors, there's also the Ciurea rail disaster (1917) and the Guadalajara train disaster (1915), both with higher death tolls than this.
Sad story. Thanks for covering this remarkable tragedy.
this is especially interesting to me because my granddad was in the British Army stationed in Italy and Africa around this time, and I didn’t really know much about Italy in the war during that time, apart from the fact they were allied with Germany
Thank you to your late granddad for his service.
Something similar happened about the same time in Spain.
During WWII trade routes were severed. Americans had a hard time getting all sorts of things. In the Bengal area of British India there was a huge famine. It killed millions. They still argue about what caused it. A stirring film by Satyagit Ray called "Distant Thunder" covered it. It was a war film with absolutely no soldiers. The only thing they saw was some newspaper headlines and a few airplanes flew past.
Other films about how war affected people outside of uniform are "The Night of Shooting Starts" from Italy and "Under the Volcano" from Sri Lanka.
What a tragic story. I’ve been watching your videos since a while now, I don’t think I’ve noticed you put in a time line before, it was a nice addition.
This channel has helped me understand fire department recommendations on crowd size in a confined area. So those signs that say "Capacity -XX Number of People" are there due to historical disasters.
Yep. Studies now show 1) how many, and what sort, of exit routes are necessary to evacuate a given number of people from a fire 2) what density of people can lead to crushing -- those studies are made at universities but with contributions from real-life events, and real life provides the motivation to put the recommendations into practice.
Love your work. Excellent writing, researching and presentation. Thanks
It's 4:15 am in North Texas, and I can't sleep. Now, I'll fight to stay awake for a Fascinating Horror.
Grrrr Mr. Sandman, I will watch this FH before you can get me. I'm serious. Stay back.
Same here!
All that yapping for attention
😂😂
Can’t sleep either
@@RuminatingWizardhaha, wow youre so funny! You really showed that guy who's doing no harm whatsoever! Haha, you seem so cooool! Wow i really look up to you
I wanna be just like someone like you, who berates total strangers for having the audacity to comment their free thoughts on a silly youtube video!! Haha! The way you told him he was begging for attention, with the way he was simply stating a thought!
You see that, yet? How youre being a dick for no reason? I can keep being sarcastic if you want.
Man, this is one of those where you can’t help but feel sorrow and anger at the circumstances these people faced. War is an unforgiving, hateful event for any country and its citizens suffer so badly by it.
Drivers at both ends of the train with no ability to communicate with each other? Perfect recipe for disaster
The train had both locomotives at the front instead of one at the rear and other in the front as was usual...
War. What is it good for? . . . 🎶 Absolutely nothing 🎶
"War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory". Georges Clemenceau
@@MarxistMediaIt has never been good.
Maybe in a general sense, but there are reasons to go to war, stopping people like Hitler being a good example. There will always be people who will do more damage as a leader than a war will.
Making some people money.
That’s actually extremely narrow minded. War has been the driving force for nearly all of the technological advances we rely on every single day. Including the device that let you post that sentiment. War may be a terrible thing, but it’s ungrateful to willfully ignore the benefits of it that you enjoy every day
Everytime I think I have heard every story from WWII….I discover a new one. Thank you, FH.
I had heard it was under reported. But I hadn't heard about all of the unidentified bodies and the mass grave. Just tragic to think about families in desperate poverty suddenly have the family member you trusted to travel for food just vanish.
I know it is the desired 'way to go' for many people, but the idea of dying in my sleep, of never being aware that my life was about to end, chills me to my core. Does the dreaming brain know what's happening? Can we even know one way or another?
Thanks for another Tuesday video, FH ☕
It's called lucid dreaming. I've experienced it a few times, and have discussed it with others in online forums. But it's rarely under the control of the person dreaming.
This is so well done that the context itself tells you most of what probably happened before you hear it. War is one of those scearioes where it's easy to let go of thinking through and troubleshooting general public safety - so focused is everyone on threat to the military. When everyone informally knows that key official and legal ways of operating don't actually work for people, and informal systems that aren't thought through for public safty become standard, this kind of tragedy is unavoidable,sooner or later. The entire landscape of this tragedy is one of systemic national breakdown, even before it happens. War births endless heartbreak in all kinds of ways that don't usually even come to mind. It's alway a failure of human progress, even when it's a morally unavoidable choise for what we need to protect.
I know things didn't magically return to normal in 1945 but it always feels extra cruel when people lived through so much of the war and then died in an incident like this in 1944-45.
Well done. Indeed I had never heard of it . War in Italy was bad, starving was common and bombing was heavy particularly in the industrial parts of the country. I was born there and there were still signs of all of that 20+ years after war ended. War is sh*t!
Unsurprising to have never heard of this and hear it was swept under the rug, especially given how easily I imagine it was to do when almost every place in Europe suffered hard during WWII due to the Axis's actions.
Really wonderful, compassionate reporting. You always provide a thorough historical context.
Thank you for each episode that you produce. You can tell that much time and effort goes into the research of the episodes. Thanks again.
Great job with this video, you always treat these tragedies with appropriate respect and gravity. Excellent history lesson as well. I hope someday humanity finds a way to solve our problems without war.
This and many other tragedies that happened during that time that we don't even know about. Thanks FH love your channel.
Amazing job as always, and keep being awesome! :D
A high quality production per usual by creator fascinating horror. Thank you.
Tragically heartbreaking, thank you for highlighting this story.
That final line was beautifully put.
Wow, another new story I'd never heard of before. Thank you for your hard work in preparing these! And thank you for sharing,
An excellent history lesson. Top quality content as usual. Thanks for bringing us this little known story.
Great video FH. RIP to those lost in the tragedy, and condolences to the families.
Tragic situation. Excellent presentation.
Always look forward to a Tuesday morning video by FH
Another compelling and tragic event brought to us. Thank you, Sir, for the research and work you did to share this content.
I have learned a great deal of history viewing your channel. You speak clearly and deliberately. The emotion of the events comes through your excellent voice tempo and inflections.
You could be an audiobooks narrator for sure!
Again, thank you for your work.
Michael
Michigan
Thanks so much for doing the story of this. Was such a tragedy all the way around.
Very well told story, thank you!
Thanks for another very well-made video.
Ah that time of the week! Thank you, Fascinating Horrors!
Quality channel!!!!!!!!! Great stuff as usual.
The creepiest music for your channel. I am always filled with forboding when I hear this music. Always look forward to your video's. Thank you.
Thank you for informing us of this tragedy
Thanks for this tough subject.
This is the episode I've been waiting for!
Wow! I hadn’t ever heard or read about that event. Thanks so much!
Thank you for the upload 🙏🙂
I'd not heard of this disaster before now. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
How horrible that members of a family or friends simply disappeared and nothing was heard from them again. You would have had no word at all, not even news of the disaster. People simply went out and never came home.
Wow! Thanks for this excellent video!
So interesting. Great job, as usual.
Thank you for your excellent work !
One of the most fascinating and tragic videos I've ever seen on 'Fascinating Horror' - and that's saying something!
thanks for bringing this to my attention. today I will think about these people.
My dad's family is from Palermo Sicily so this really struck home for me. It is heart-wrenching. We have so many relatives we simply cannot find closure for and this could explain a few of them for sure. What I mean is....... How many members of my family were killed in bombings or other skirmishes during this darned war and their bodies were never identified? It really leaves me to wonder. By the way, the Civil War continues to this day. Northern Italians still look down on us Southern Italians. I volunteer for an exchange student program and one exchange student from Italy said one of her parents is from the North and one is from the South so she gets treated with disdain from both sides! She said that to this very day, Northern Italians don't like Southern Italians and vice versa! I couldn't imagine what her mom and dad's wedding must have been like!! Good Lord!! Talk about a shotgun wedding!! LOL!!
Well done sir …. Very informative
Such a shame. Thanks for the episode, take care.
Thank you for this channel and your work . However , I can’t manage more than about 3 videos at a time because of the horror of disasters , so many through sheer stupidity , negligence , incompetence or just plain sloppiness . From a new Subscriber .
Love this channel nice work never heard of this disaster
Excellent job
This is truly a disaster on many levels. Way too many people on board, coal bring subpar, etc. How can people be buried when they don't know their names? Truly tragic. Excellent presentation ❤
It's hard, so far removed, to say things like, "Why did or didn't they..." - but times were far different back then, and then you couple that with a country at war with itself and everyone else, who could imagine but those in it. However, that being said, it amazes me that, knowing they had to send coal-burning engines through that tunnel that they wouldn't have implemented some better exhaust means to vent the smoke. This, to me, seems like a problem that should've been foreseen and addressed prior to the onset of any conflict or war. Again, not passing judgment, but it's hard to look past that whole "poor ventilation" part of this whole equation.
Not just a country at war. A country that managed to get its a** kicked by both Allies and Axis.
Wow this is the most fascinating video you've made yet. Carbon monoxide is undetectable, I can't imagine how horrifying it would be to witness people around you suddenly fainting
Woah, I was waiting for this to get featured ever since reading about it
By coincidence, I just learned about this disaster yesterday. There's a Canadian series on tubi called Disasters of the Century that examines many cases like this, world-wide, though mostly in Canada. A few are well known, but even on those I've learned new things. They also have interviews w/survivors, relatives, etc. Like this channel, the best aspect is they don't sensationalize tragedy, but still give viewers all the heartbreak.
They have this exact disaster on this series. Try "Black Market Express"/"End of the line".
One thinks of the old, single bore tunnels of Woodhead between Sheffield and Manchester and the tight squeeze of Coombe Down Tunnel on the Smerset and Dorset on the climb south of Bath.
I just ❤ this channel.
That really was fascinating! Can't believe that such a massive incident as this was kept quiet. I understand why during the war, but that was over so long ago. RIP all the unfortunate souls who were just trying to look after their families ❤
Such an awesome channel❤
I wonder if the train struggled because of the low oxygen in the tunnel. If the previous train had depleted it, the coal wouldn’t burn very well, thus producing less power. Stalling, in effect.
I was considering that issue as well. Cheap coal, poor ventilation in the tunnel, and overloaded trains were all problems they may have had in the past, but not all at the same time. All of that that together, and shortly after a train that likely had similar difficulties, was probably why the train stalled so quickly.
That plus the lack of power would have forced the engines/drivers to also use more of the poor coal, making the problem worse too 😢
I remember reading about this horrifying event many years ago. Even then I was surprised it was so little known.
I first learned about this in the mid-60s, from reading an article in the Readers' Digest (I don't know where it first appeared). The words of the man who struggled back to Balvano and raised the alarm have stayed in my head ever since:
"La, la - sono morti, tutti morti!"
I don't think I need to translate.
Grandma was born in Sienna, and emigrated as a teen during WW1. She left family, friends, neighbors, shopkeepers, parish members, priests and nuns. She kept in contact with some right up to the beginning of WW2. She went to her grave believing somebody she knew had to have survived and would contact her. Nobody did. There was no record of any name she could think of after 1943.
"Like" is not the term for the sort of recognition this comment deserves
The St Michel de Maurienne derailment on 12 December 1917 had a higher death roll. Over 500 bodies were identified, but many more were completely burned, and others jumped from the train and were killed.
Hello. Would you ever consider doing the Ciurea rail disaster (over 1000 dead) or the Colectiv club fire? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Once again excellent narration and one cannot help but ponder those currently afflicted by war around our little blue-green ball. RiP those victims.
Sad, tragic story. The 'black market' trains also occurred in Germany, where they were known as 'hamster-zug', many passengers riding them to escape the night time bombing raids. Thanks for all the archive footage, historicaly fascinating to see.
Thank you.
WOW.
I wonder if those people really just 'peacefully passed away in their sleep' or if they had a few minutes of choking and panic before they expired? It's hard to believe you wouldn't wake up gasping...
It's quite common during carbon monoxide poisoning to simply never regain consciousness if you were already asleep. The overall effect of carbon monoxide poisoning on those still awake isn't choking and gasping but to feel drowsy and slip eventually into unconsciousness. Though the actual smoke its self is a different matter.
@@skylined5534 yeah monoxide isn't even proper smoke. It might be mixed with it, but on it's own it's not.
Good video thanks.
On the subject of train accidents: you should really add the Dutchman's Curve train wreck of 1918 to your queue to make videos on! I used to live in Nashville and would walk right through that historical site on my way to work from the bus stop. It was one of the two deadliest train wrecks in US history to this day (both occurring in 1918!)
This disaster must have inspired the train tunnel disaster scene in "Atlas Shrugged".
First read about this one in Great Disasters featuring Hindenburg Quintinshill Camille Coconut Grove Tracy Seveso and Flixboro. Cracking stuff.