Posted September 20, 2024

ABSTRACT

Hampson NB. Mass Carbon Monoxide Poisoning on a Train in Italy, March 1944. History
Reconstructed. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2024 Third Quarter; 51(3):247-251.

World War II was approaching its end in Italy in 1944 when one of the worst train disasters in world
history occurred near the small town of Balvano in the Apennine Mountains. The train did not derail or
crash into something as in most major train disasters. Instead, it entered a mountainous railway tunnel,
and when it emerged, over 500 passengers were dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. The event was
not allowed to be publicized for almost two decades. This manuscript reconstructs the story of possibly
the most significant incident of carbon monoxide mortality ever recorded.

2024_italy_train_disaster.pdf (neilhampson.com)