Rope breaks in Northern League’s tug of war

The day had been rather low-key, at least with respect to the large crowd of last year; the number of spectators of the 2011 tug of war by the Northern League was far fewer than in 2010, and, in the end, the frequently announced arrival of “Senatur” Bossi only took place at the end of the event, when the accident had occurred.

But this year, the event that set out to pit Northern League supporters in Lombardy against those in Piedmont, turned into a great fright for all of the participants.

Everyone was ready at 5.15 pm; there were 50 people on the Piedmont bank, in Castelletto Ticino, led by the President of the Region, Roberto Cota and by Mario Borghezio, and 40 on the Lombard bank, in Sesto Calende, led by Marco Reguzzoni, Francesco Speroni, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Fabio Rizzi and the Mayor of Sesto, Marco Colombo. Screams of encouragement and moments of euphoria on the Sesto side; unlike last year, it appeared that victory would be Lombardy’s. But then, an extremely loud crack was heard, and all of the participants, including a number of women, fell violently to the ground. It was immediately stated that the heavy rope had broken (see on Varesenews’ uncut video), as it could be seen a few seconds later flying back towards the River Ticino.

There was a strong smell of burnt skin, and it became clear what had happened, immediately afterwards, in the ambulance that was there on duty. At least thirty people received treatment, some for injuries caused by falling (including the photographer Giorgio Lotti, who had an injury to his face), the most serious of which was a woman who had broken her arm. Many people were treated for abrasions and rope burns; of those who were injured in this way, the most serious appeared to be Giancarlo Giorgetti, whose severe abrasions to the hands and finger tips could be seen immediately after the occurrence, and who was treated in the Casualty Department in Varese. The Mayor of Sesto Calende, Marco Colombo, also had injuries to the legs, caused by the “rope lash”, and the regional councillor, Giangiacomo Longoni, and Senator Fabio Rizzi also had minor injuries to the face and hands. Marco Reguzzoni and Francesco Speroni, who were also participating in the event, were unhurt.