The investigation into the cable car crash in Mottarone which killed fourteen people widens. The prosecutor of Verbania, Olimpia Bossi, signed a request for an evidentiary incident that now includes fourteen suspects.
In May, the cable car connecting the Lago Maggiore resort town of Stresa to Mottarone mountain plummeted into the mountainside. Fourteen people onboard died; one child survived.
Originally three people arrested
The police arrested, and then released from prison, three men associated with the cable car. They were the cable car manager, Luigi Nerini, the operating manager Enrico Perocchio, and the head of service Gabriele Tadini. Tadini remains under house arrest.
The investigation is now widening with nine more suspects and two companies added to the list. The two companies are Ferrovie del Mottarone and Leitner, which took care of the maintenance of the plant.
In the request for an evidentiary incident signed by the prosecutor, the Leitner company that took care of the maintenance of the plant states: “We will collaborate with the investigators”.
Fourteen suspects in total
The 14 suspects include Anton Seeber, president of the Leitner group, and Martin Leitner as managing director, as well as the delegate for safety relating to ropeways.
Among the names is also that of Rino Fanetti, “the Leitner employee who on 22 November 2016 performed the cast head of the upper hauling cable of cabin 3”.
The crime of an attack on transport safety is also contested in the request for an evidentiary incident. The other crimes, already mentioned in the investigations, are the removal or wilful omission of precautions against accidents at work, aggravated by the disaster, and a crime of forgery challenged only by Gabriele Tadini.
The full list of suspects, as reported by La Stampa, is:
1) Luigi Nerini, 56, manager of the cable car
2) Enrico Perocchio, 51, in charge of security
3) Gabriele Tadini, 63, head of plant service, under house arrest since May 29
4) Anton Seeber, 48,
5) Martin Leitner, 58,
6) Peter Rabanser, 34,
7) Rino Fanetti, 48,
8) Fabrizio Pezzolo, 54,
9) Davide Marchetto, 61,
10) Alessandro Rossi, 56,
11) Davide Moschitti, 41,
12) Federico Samonini, 36,
13) Società Ferrovie del Mottarone srl with registered office in Arona and operational headquarters in Stresa
14) Leitner spa company with registered office in Vipiteno.
Response from Leitner Spa
Leitner Spa responded to the investigation with the following statement:
“reflected in the extensive documentation available to the judiciary, our company carried out the maintenance activity and the related checks in full compliance with the contract and the regulations in force on the subject, we once again reiterate our maximum willingness to collaborate with the investigating bodies, also with the help of experts whom we will identify among recognised professional figures in the cable car sector to help clarify what happened as soon as possible.”
