Italian man convicted in rail disaster trial

The trial into the Pioltello disaster, a 2018 train accident in Italy that caused three deaths, ended on Tuesday (25) with one conviction and eight acquittals.

According to the Milan Court's sentence, Marco Albanesi, former head of the Brescia unit of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), was sentenced to five years and three months in prison.

As for the defendants acquitted by the magistrates, the charges of negligent railway disaster (when there is no intention to commit the crime), multiple negligent homicide, negligent injuries and violation of safety standards were withdrawn "because they did not commit the acts".

Former RFI CEO Maurizio Gentile is among those acquitted in the case.

The accident occurred on January 25, 2018, when a train carrying around 350 passengers, most of them migrants, derailed near Pioltello station, on the outskirts of Milan, and crashed into an electricity pylon.