Train stopped in tunnel, 80 years ago 500 asphyxiated deaths. 8017 had stopped in the 'Armi' tunnel, in Basilicata, between the Balvano and Bella Muro stations of the Battipaglia-Potenza-Metaponto line.
The thick smoke released by the two coal locomotives that pulled the many freight wagons invaded the tunnel, and the poisons, mainly carbon monoxide, killed hundreds of people, many of whom were sleeping. The exact number of victims of the disaster has never been established.