“Unguarded construction site”, controversy after the accident at the municipal block

The construction site is on the top floor of the public housing project, managed by the municipality, via Martiri Palestinesi at number 7, on the outskirts of Cinisello Balsamo. The strong gusts of wind caused wooden planks to fall into the courtyard where a young 29-year-old was seriously hit on the head while his 66-year-old father was more lightly injured.

It seems that the construction site on the top floor, set up after a fire destroyed an apartment, has been deserted for a few weeks, at least according to some residents’ testimonies. And it hadn’t even been secured. Appropriate checks will be carried out, say the municipality. “We are concerned for the two of our fellow citizens who were involved in the accident. We are following the evolution of their conditions and, in the meantime, trying to understand what exactly happened in the courtyard of the building where redevelopment works were underway. We hope that the young man and his father can recover as soon as possible”, these are the words of the mayor Giacomo Ghilardi.

The municipality also announces that the Unipolsai insurance, to cover the costs of the restoration work, directly managed all the restoration phases, commissioning a specialized company for the work.

Many people wonder why the construction site was in a state of abandonment. Politics also intervenes. “Today’s accident in Cinisello Balsamo was serious. Especially in light of the fact that the contracting body is directly the Municipality which asked to intervene to redo the roof, previously damaged by a fire. – declare Gaetano Petronio, secretary of the Italian Left Cinisello Balsamo, and Francesco Casarolli, secretary of Green Europe Cinisello Balsamo – Apparently the company that took charge of the contract – thanks to a 29.92% discount – left the construction site unattended by a month without securing the material and tying wooden planks with cellophane to cover them. Today the wind did the rest, causing the beams to fall on the head of the 28-year-old who is now in hospital with head and face trauma. All this happens on the outskirts of Cinisello where the mayor says he puts safety first and wastes no time in boasting (just today) about how intact the administration’s accounts are. Maybe he didn’t do his calculations well. We want clarification on what happened and on the fact that the construction site was unattended. By saving on contracts you gain neither in safety nor in the quality of the work and, as always, in the end someone pays”.