Grieving Italians Bury 33 Victims of Dam Collapse

Grieving residents of this devastated vacation hamlet in the Dolomite Mountains on Monday buried some of the 199 known victims of last week’s dam disaster in a 130-foot-long common grave.

Thirty-one brown wooden coffins, each with a bronze cross, most with lilies or roses taped to them, and two small, white coffins of children were lined up in two rows in the mass burial. About 2,000 mourners gathered on the hillside.

“This is one of the saddest days for our region as we lay down our 33 brothers and sisters here among our prayers and flowers,” said Father Giovanni Conci, who officiated at a Requiem Mass at the medieval San Leonardo church.

Other funerals will be held this week for victims who lived in the valley, as well as throughout Italy for vacationers who had come to the alpine spot for peace and quiet. Another funeral is scheduled for later this week in Tesero for unidentified victims.

As the mourners wept and a choir sang hymns, trucks labored down the valley roads, carrying away some of the tons of mud that buried the resort.

52 Victims Unidentified

Soldiers and volunteers, digging through sticky mud in the valley, recovered 199 bodies by Monday, 52 of them still unidentified. With little hope left for finding more survivors, civil defense officials estimated the eventual death toll at 217, all believed to have been Italians.

Prosecutor Francesco Simeoni told a news conference in Trento that he has signed some 50 judicial notices notifying public officials and others involved in the construction and maintenance of the dam that they are under investigation for possible criminal negligence.

Asked how many notices will be issued, he said: “I will be signing more. . . . I can’t tell how many right now.”

Among those receiving the notices were Tesero Mayor Adriano Jellici and his three immediate predecessors, judicial sources reported.

“This is not India or some Third World country. . . . This is a civilized country and a disaster like this should never have happened,” Simeoni said.

The dam break at midday Friday unleashed a torrent of dirt, water and debris into this northern Italian village, flattening three hotels and Stava’s 20 houses. Officials provisionally put the damage at more than $4.5 million.