Dramatic accident at work in Casteldaccia. During some maintenance, cleaning and renovation works on a lifting system, seven workers were trapped. Five have died, one is serious. They are workers of the Quadrifoglio Group of Partinico.
The dead workers are Epifanio Alsazia, 71 years old, owner of the Quadrifoglio Group, Giuseppe La Barbera, 28 years old, Giuseppe Miraglia, 47 years old, Roberto Raneri 51 years old, Ignazio Giordano, 57 years old.
Epifanio Alsazia, 71 years old, co-owner of the Quadrifoglio Group, was from Partinico (Palermo), as was Ignazio Giordano, 57 years old. Giuseppe Miraglia, 47 years old, was originally from San Cipirello (Palermo), while Roberto Raneri, 51 years old, was from Alcamo (Trapani). Giuseppe La Barbera, 28 years old, is the temporary worker of Amap.
It was the seventh worker who raised the alarm when he realized something was wrong. Upon their arrival, the firefighters extracted three of the unfortunate victims from the tank. One of the three was intubated on site by 118 personnel and urgently transported to intensive care at the Policlinico hospital in Palermo. A second worker, equally serious, was transported to hospital by air ambulance. Numerous ambulances and firefighters arrived in the area and attempted to provide aid to all those involved in the accident. A fourth worker was rescued by medics on site while recovery operations were underway for other unfortunate people who were still inside the tank. But despite the efforts of the rescuers, the toll is very serious: a real tragedy.
Agents in the Partinico office
The agents of the flying squad who are investigating the Casteldaccia massacre are located in via Milano in Partinico in the headquarters of Quadrifoglio Group srl, the company where four of the workers who died today in the Palermo area worked. Documents and employee information are being acquired. The investigations are coordinated by the Termini Imerese prosecutor’s office.
Casteldaccia massacre, four workers injured
In addition to the victims, a fifth of the company’s workers are hospitalized in intensive care at the Policlinico hospital in Palermo. Domenico Viola aged 62 from Partinico. His condition is serious. Three workers were saved: Giovanni D’Aleo, 44 years old, Giuseppe Scavuzzo, 39 years old and Paolo Sciortino, 35 years old. The first was taken to the emergency room of the Polyclinic, the other two to the emergency room of the Termini Imerese hospital.
Deep sorrow of President Schifani
“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” says the President of the Region Renato Schifani as soon as he learned the news.
Tamajo: “Solidarity with families”
“Following the tragic loss of five workers and the serious injury of two others during the accident that occurred today in Casteldaccia, I would like to express my deepest solidarity with the families of the victims. This terrible accident has shaken us deeply, leaving an irreplaceable void in the hearts of the families affected. In this moment of pain and difficulty, we are close to the relatives of the victims and we share their mourning. Words may be insufficient in the face of such an unfair loss. I hope that light is shed on what happened as soon as possible. Similar incidents must never happen again.”
The mayor of Casteldaccia
“It’s a huge tragedy. We are shocked. Five young people who died for a piece of bread. It’s inconceivable.”
This is what was stated by the mayor of Casteldaccia Giovanni Di Giacinto who rushed to the site of the massacre where five workers died and one is hospitalized in serious conditions at the Policlinico hospital.
The mayor of Palermo
“Terrible pain for the tragedy that caused the death of workers at work in Casteldaccia. The municipal administration’s condolences and closeness go to their families and colleagues.” Thus the mayor of Palermo Roberto Lagalla.
Amap here are the jobs that the workers were carrying out
“I would like to express my most sincere condolences to the families of the workers involved in this tragedy.” Alessandro Di Martino, sole director of Amap, says so.
The works along State Road 113 were prepared following repeated reports in recent days about anomalies in the sewerage network, in the section between the intersection with Via della Rotonda and the lifting station called “Vini Corvo”.
For their execution, Amap has appointed the Quadrifoglio Group company for every verification activity of the aforementioned sewerage section.
The works, which involved raising the wells and unblocking them with the aid of a vacuum truck, began on April 29th and have continued until today.
The sole director of Amap, Alessandro Di Martino reached the site of the accident together with the mayor Roberto Lagalla and the director of the company, Giovanni Sciortino. “On behalf of the entire company, I would like to express my most sincere condolences to the families of the workers involved in this tragedy.”
Dramatic days for accidents at work
The latest tragedy occurred just 4 days ago when a 59-year-old worker, originally from Catania, died in an accident at work which occurred in recent hours in Floridia, in the Syracuse area.
Accidents at work, 2024 already a black year
Accident reports submitted to INAIL in the first three months of 2024 were 145,130, up by 0.4% compared to the 144,586 in the first quarter of 2023, by 12.8% compared to January-March 2021 and by 10.9 % compared to January-March 2020, and down by 7.9% compared to 2019, the year preceding the pandemic crisis, and by 25.2% compared to 2022. There were 191 fatal accident reports, five fewer compared to the 196 recorded in the first quarter of 2023 and 21 less than in 2019, 25 more than in 2020, six more than in 2021 and two more than in 2022.
