Could the Morandi disaster in
Genoa have been avoided?
O
n 14 August 2018, Gianluca Ardini
and his colleague were driving
across the Morandi Bridge in the
Italian city of Genoa when the bridge
began to collapse, with cars and lorries
tumbling to the ground 50m below...
‘The tarmac opened up like in the films,’
says Gianluca. ‘Our van plunged down a
crack and then we landed, but I realised
we were still 20m off the ground! I turnedto my colleague but
he was dead.’
Gianluca’s vehicle
had fallen 30m before
getting caught in the wreckage. But with
his van hanging precariously, rescuers
faced a race to get to him in time.
‘I felt pain everywhere,’ says Gianluca.
‘I could feel the truck moving and I was
terrified it was going to fall. Thankfully,
the rescuers heard my screams.’Gianluca was saved, but 43 people lost
their lives that day. Yet, with the bridge’s
structural problems identified years prior,
could the tragedy have been prevented?
This documentary hears accounts from
survivors, those who helped to build the
bridge over 50 years ago and the officials
investigating the collapse.
‘There’s no way this was an accident,’
says investigator Francesco Cozzi. ‘It was
not unpredictable, it was avoidable.’ QStructural problems...
The collapsed bridgeHORROR
Words:^ Hannah^Davies,Sean^MarlandPhotos:^ Alamy,BBC,C4 ,DannyPembroke,Getty,^ MetropolitanPolice^ServiceNEW FACTUAL
When Bridges Collapse:
The Genoa Disaster
Monday, 9pm BBC2Survivor...
Gianlucaon the bridge
27
The secret
Train Robber!
Danny Pembroke Jr’s dad was
the only Great Train Robber
who never got caught...
T
he Great Train Robbery was a
criminal plot that still captures the
nation’s imagination. On 8 August
1963, a Royal Mail express train was
stopped in Buckinghamshire and 16
robbers unloaded dozens of sacks
containing £2.6million – around
£51million in today’s money.
The gang members were eventually
caught, charged and jailed, including
Buster Edwards, Ronnie Biggs and
Bruce Reynolds. One man got away
with it, however, and that was career
criminal Danny Pembroke.
‘He never discussed what he did for
a living,’ says Danny’s son,
also called Danny, who
speaks about his dad’s
role in the robbery in this
C4 documentary. ‘When
he was 28, he dyed
his hair grey. I thought
nothing of it. Then, yearslater, I found out that on one of these
robberies one of the perpetrators was an
old man in a wheelchair. It made sense.’Clever plan
After robbing the Glasgow-to-London
train, the gang counted up the cash
at nearby Leatherslade Farm.
‘For the whole time he was in
Leatherslade, he kept his gloves
on,’ says Danny Jr.
The care he took paid
off. Danny was taken in
for questioning but there
was no evidence to charge
him. Things didn’t go
the same way for gang
members Tommy Wisbeyand Roger Cordrey, however, whose
children also feature in the documentary.
Meanwhile, Danny Sr fled to Florida
and returned once the dust had settled.
He got a job as a cabbie and led a
normal life until his death in 2015.
‘We had a very comfortable life, but
not overextravagant,’ says Danny Jr.
‘He made his money last a lifetime.’ QPolice mugshot...
Danny Pembroke SrNEW (^) FACTUAL
The Great Train Robbery:
The Hidden Tapes
Monday, 9pm C 4
Family man...
Danny and his son