Six executives on trial for fire deaths

TURIN, Italy, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Six managers from a ThyssenKrupp steel mill in Italy went on trial Thursday on charges of contributing to the deaths of seven workers killed in a 2007 fire.

One of the managers is charged with murder, a first in an Italian case involving workplace death, and the others with manslaughter, the news agency ANSA reported. The company is also a defendant.

One employee was killed in the fire at the Turin plant and the others died from severe burns during the next few weeks.

Many family members came to the hearing wearing T-shirts with pictures of the victims. ThyssenKrupp, headquartered in Germany, paid a reported 13 million euros ($17 million) in damages.

Judges ruled that the proceedings can be televised because of the public interest in the case. They adjourned the trial until Jan. 22.

Investigators say equipment and training at the plant was not adequate. Some workers have said when they tried using fire extinguishers they found that many of them were empty.