Procession held for Brandizzo rail-disaster victims

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 4 - Hundreds of people on Monday joined the relatives of the five rail maintenance workers killed in an accident at Brandizzo station near Turin last week in a procession in Vercelli.
    The procession was organized by the Cgil, Cisl and Uil trade unions to mourn the victims and demand better safety in the workplace.
    The five workers' relatives carried photos of their loved-ones who were hit and killed by a passing train on the Milan-Turin line late on Wednesday while working on the track.
    "We have no more words," read one banner.
    "These aren't accidents, they are homicides," said another.
    The two survivors of the accident, the foreman of the team of workers employed by a contractor and the Italian rail company RFI employee responsible for the worksite, have been put under investigation.
    Investigators are trying to work out why work was allowed to begin before there was confirmation that traffic on the line had been halted.
    Sources say investigators believe work started even though the RFI employee was denied the all-clear for it to begin in three phone calls with network officials.
    Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said Sunday that the disaster stemmed from an "unacceptable" and "dramatic mistake".
    "'The procedure is there," Salvini said.
    "You can't go to work on a track if there is no notification that no more vehicles are passing". (ANSA).