Five more workers died from toxic fumes. It happened in Casteldaccia, in the province of Palermo, where a team of seven workers was working on the sewerage network, on behalf of Amap, the company that manages the sewerage and water pipes of the Sicilian capital. The workers were engaged in some maintenance work on a sewerage lifting system. 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, unfortunately, nothing that could be done; the sixth was urgently transferred to the Polyclinic after being intubated. His conditions are defined as “very serious” by doctors. Six workers, of the seven involved, are employees of the Quadrifoglio group srl company in Partinico. The company worked on behalf of the Palermo municipal company Amap. These are the names of the victims: Epifanio Alsazia (71 years old), co-owner of the Quadrifoglio Group, was from Partinico, Giuseppe La Barbera, Giuseppe Miraglia (47) was originally from San Cipirello, Roberto Raneri (51 years old) from Alcamo and Ignazio Giordano, also from Partinico (57 ). Four workers survived. One, Domenico Viola, 62 years old, from Partinico, is hospitalized in intensive care at the Palermo Polyclinic. The other three are Giovanni D’Aleo, Giuseppe Scavuzzo, 39 years old and Paolo Sciortino, 35 years old. The first was taken to the emergency room of the Policlinico hospital, the other two to the emergency room of Termini Imerese. Their conditions do not cause concern.
The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, visiting New York, expressed his condolences for the serious tragedy. «I hope that full light will be shed on the dynamics of the accident. But yet another unacceptable massacre at work – just a few days before May 1st – must forcefully reiterate the need for a common commitment which must concern social forces, entrepreneurs and the relevant institutions”.
The first intervention of the fire brigade at the site of the tragedy – Ansa
According to an initial reconstruction, the five workers died, one after the other, by lowering themselves into the manhole. As has already happened in other similar cases, after the first worker remained underground without coming out, the others lowered themselves to understand what was happening. The seventh member of the team, not seeing his colleagues come out, raised the alarm. Four victims are workers at Quadrifoglio in Partinico, among them the owner of the company would also be included; the fifth is a temporary worker from Amap.
«It is not yet clear why the workers were inside the tank – explains Antonio Bertucci of the Fire Brigade -. The analyzes on the worker transferred to hospital – continues Bertucci – will probably make it clear what the causes of the intoxication were. When wastewater is involved, there can be different elements, from methane to hydrogen sulfide.”
With a joint note, the Sicilian CGIL, CISL and UIL ask that it be “clarified whether the safety regulations have been respected and the consequent responsibilities of the companies and the client”. «It is unacceptable to witness this dramatic trail of blood – says the general secretary of the UGL, Paolo Capone -. We are faced with a real national emergency that cannot be classified as a mere fatality. We believe that investing in safety means focusing on strengthening controls, on a culture of safety, on training starting from school, and we believe that intensifying sanctions is necessary where violations of the rules are recorded. The death toll in Italy shows an unsustainable trend for which it is no longer necessary to be indignant.” Meanwhile, Tomorrow a 4-hour and 8-hour general strike of construction workers is expected in the province of Palermo. This was announced by Piero Ceraulo, secretary of the construction workers of the Palermo CGIL. A demonstration is planned in front of the Prefecture at 9am.
The helmets symbol of deaths at work – Ansa
Meanwhile, after the first inspections, the provincial commander of the Palermo fire brigade Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra says: «If all the necessary precautions had been taken, all this would not have happened». Bentivoglio confirmed that the victims were killed by hydrogen sulphide fumes and ruled out that there was a collapse inside the sewers.
«May full light be shed on this tragedy», the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, writes in X. “Deep pain” for the incident was expressed by the president of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, who expressed his “condolences to the families of the victims for the terrible and unexpected tragedy that struck them”. And of «unacceptable massacre which requires a commitment to ensure greater safety conditions for workers», speaks Giorgio Mulè, vice president of the Chamber, deputy of Forza Italia. «It’s a huge tragedy. We are shocked. Five young people who died for a piece of bread.
It’s inconceivable”, says the mayor of Casteldaccia, Giovanni Di Giacinto, who went to the site of the massacre. Where, in the meantime, the relatives of the victims also arrived. The vice president of the Senate, Mariolina Castellone, speaks of a “continuous massacre that must be put to an end”. «Tomorrow we will present our amendment in the Senate to establish the crime of homicide at work. There is no more time to waste”, she writes on X.
