Man dies on Zurich tram but no one notices for more than six hours

Son of Pietrantonio De Sando blames ‘lack of moral courage’ among Swiss public

Commuters wait for a tram in the rain in the centre of Zurich (AFP via Getty Images)

A well-dressed tailor rode a city centre tram for more than six hours after dying in his seat before anyone noticed.

Pietrantonio De Sando, 64, boarded the line 2 streetcar at 6.21am on 21 June near his apartment in the Alfstetten suburb of Zurich in Switzerland and settled down for the 20-minute journey to work in the city centre.

When Mr De Sando did not arrive at at the Gross Couture fashion store by 8.30am, a colleague contacted his son out of concern for his welfare, as he had never missed a day off work through illness in more than 40 years.

Police told the family they could not file a missing person’s report until the next day, and checks of his apartment and local hospitals failed to provide any answers.

It was only around 1.15pm that a nurse got on the tram and noticed that something was wrong with the man wearing a suit and light blue shirt. She quickly notified the driver, who called the emergency services.

"My father suffered a cardiac arrest in the tram," Mr De Sando's son David told the daily newspaper 20 minuten. "Neither the tram driver nor the other passengers noticed anything. My father rode lifelessly on the tram for hours."

His phone - which was in his front jacket pocket and set to a loud ringtone - showed 40 missed calls.

CCTV footage from the VBZ tram revealed how Mr De Sando appeared to slump in his seat with his hands in his lap close around 13 minutes into his journey.

The tram went on to make four full laps of its circuit, during which time around 1,200 people got on and off, before the alarm was raised, according to the newspaper NZZamSonntag.

Mr De Sando's son said the incident demonstrated a lack of "moral courage" on the part of the public.

"The ignorance of the people makes me stunned and sad," he told 20 Minuten. "Nowadays people are too focused on themselves and no longer even notice their surroundings."

The family has since received a lot of calls and letters, many from strangers offering their condolences.

Mr De Sando, who was born in Calabria, Italy, and travelled to Switzerland at the age of 21 to train as a fashion designer.

The night before his death he spoke to his son David about Italy’s win against Wales in the Euro 2020 football tournament.

He was thinking of retiring in January and was looking forward to spending more time with his three grandchildren. The family also had plans for a cruise in the Mediterranean.

"The event is still very close to us," said son David. "Our only consolation is that he did not suffer."