The Mine Disaster That Devastated Post-War Italy
How an accident at Marcinelle in Belgium killed more than 100 Italian migrant workers.
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
In August 1956, a fire at a coal mine in Belgium killed 262 people. The tragedy caused grief across Europe, but particularly in Italy because more than half the dead were Italian migrants. Simon Watts brings together the memories of Lino Rota, a rescue worker at Marcinelle, and Rosaria di Martino, whose family moved to Marcinelle from a village in Sicily. The interview with Lino Rota was conducted by Italian journalist, Paolo Riva.
PHOTO: A funeral at Marcinelle in 1956 (Getty Images)