(Adnkronos) – The Bois du Cazier coal mine distaster in Marcinelle, Belgium on 8 August, 1956, in which 136 Italians perished is “one of the saddest days in our history” foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated on Friday – the anniversary of the tragedy. He hailed the “courage”, “tenacity” and “hard work” of Italian immigrants and urged Italy and other nations to fight the “scourge” of workplace accidents.
“For 69 years now, 8 August has been one of the saddest days in our history,” Tajani wrote in a statement.
“It is with sorrow that we share with the 11 other countries that lost so many of their offspring in the Bois du Cazier mine that day, making Marcinelle an Italian and European tragedy,” said the statement.
Of the 274 people working at the mine on the day of the accident, when electric cables ruptured, igniting a mineshaft blaze, only twelve survived. Most of the victims of the disaster were immigrants from Italy, Belgium, Poland, Greece, Germany, France, Hungary, Britain, the Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine.
“Many years later, Marcinelle – like Monongah in the United States and Mattmark in Switzerland, sites of similar accidents – still evokes the stories of our compatriots who left Abruzzo, Veneto, Calabria and all the regions of Italy, their toil and their desire for release,” the statement continued.
In 2001, the government of late premier and billionaire media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi dedicated an annual ‘National Day of Sacrifice of Italian Labour in the World’ to the millions of Italian immigrant workers worldwide, the statement recalled.
“This commemoration goes beyond a single event to celebrate those who brought Italian know-how and our values of tenacity, solidarity and close-knit ties, setting an example with their hard work,” the statement said.
Friday’s wreath-laying ceremony at the Marcinelle memorial is also a tribute to “the extraordinary contribution that our communities continue to make to their host countries, thanks also to new generations of highly specialised professionals, researchers, workers and technicians, who represent an Italy of growth and innovation.”
“But the duty to remember must spawn a strong commitment to work together to fight the scourge of accidents at work – in Italy and in Europe,” the statement underlined.
Since its outset, the government of premier Giorgia Meloni has been committed to rolling out measures focused on prevention, training, awareness-raising and “robust” action to combat breaches of safety norms, the statement added.
