Gotthard: Two days to go – in the tunnel for eternity
Today there’s a new sheet of paper up on the miners’ noticeboard. A cloud of sadness falls on what has been, until now, a radiantly sunny day.
The youngest was just 23 years old. He met his destiny in the tunnel on January 21, 2005 – a destiny that was cynical and cruel.
But fate was not just content with Salvatore’s life, it wanted Andrea’s as well. Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners, could only look on helplessly at what was the darkest day for AlpTransit.
Eight miners won’t be attending the party on Friday. But their colleagues won’t forget them – their photographs will be the first to cross the threshold during the final breakthrough.
As with the old Gotthard rail tunnel and the road tunnel, man has again defeated the mountain. But it has demanded the greatest sacrifice.
Luigi Jorio, Faido, October 13, 2010
The miners won’t forget their lost colleagues.
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