Five workers died in a workplace accident in Casteldaccia, in the Palermo area. A sixth was transported to the Policlinico hospital in Palermo after being intubated. According to an initial reconstruction, seven workers from a private company were carrying out some maintenance work on a sewerage lifting system on behalf of Amap, the company that manages the water and sewerage pipelines in Palermo.
At a certain point some of them began to feel ill, probably due to hydrogen sulphide poisoning which causes irritation of the respiratory tract and suffocation. One of them managed to get out of the plant and raise the alarm; the other six were trapped and passed out due to fumes. They were rescued by the firefighters and 118 health workers who tried to resuscitate them on the spot. For five of them there was nothing that could be done; the sixth was urgently transferred to the Polyclinic.
«What I felt when I heard the news of the death of the workers in Casteldaccia was profound pain. On behalf of myself and the entire council I express my most sincere condolences to the families of the victims for the terrible and unexpected tragedy that has struck them.” The president of the Region Renato Schifani says so.
