Three workers were in the sewer tank, in the middle of the slime. The lifeless bodies of two others, in the concrete attic. A sixth worker managed to reach the surface, but is in a coma at the Palermo Polyclinic. A nauseating smell in the air. He also felt he was 40 meters away. A massacre at work. Yet another. It all happened in Casteldaccia, a small town 25 kilometers from Palermo. The Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation. An autopsy on the bodies is awaited, but there seems to be no doubt: the 5 workers died of intoxication. In that confined space, they breathed hydrogen sulfide, a gas caused by the fermentation of organic residues. «It was ten times higher than the permitted limit», says Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandre, provincial fire brigade commander who coordinated 4 teams that intervened for the rescue.
WHEN THE DIVERS they entered the tank, with 80 centimeters of slime, they found the bodies of three workers, the other two were a handful of meters above their heads. “The 118 health workers attempted to resuscitate them, but to no avail,” says fire inspector Francesco Cruciata, at the forefront of the body recovery operations. None of the workers would have worn masks and protective devices, which are required by law. The victims are Epifanio Alsazia, 71 years old from Partinico, co-owner of the company Quadrifoglio group srl, which had won the contract from Amap, the Palermo company, for the maintenance work on the sewage tank; Giuseppe Miraglia, 47 years old, originally from San Cipirrello (Palermo), Roberto Raneri, 51 years old, from Alcamo (Trapani), Ignazio Giordano, 59 years old and Giuseppe La Barbera, 26 years old, temporary worker for Amap, the contracting authority. A sixth worker, Domenico Viola, 62 years old, is seriously ill at the hospital.
THREE MORE workers escaped, they did not lower themselves into the tunnel with the killer gas: Giovanni D’Aleo, 44 years old, Giuseppe Scavuzzo, 39 years old, and Paolo Sciortino, 35 years old, were taken to the Termini Imerese hospital for precaution, in shock. According to the reconstruction of the firefighters, the three workers had lowered themselves by lifting a manhole along the state road 113 that connects Casteldaccia to Palermo (a road just about ten meters wide with houses on both sides) going down into the sewer room. But immediately after taking the first steps, with the pump still in their hands, they lost consciousness. Not hearing them, two other colleagues reached the concrete attic to understand what was happening but were trapped: the hydrogen sulphide stunned them immediately.
THE SIXTH WORKER, who was outside, rushed to help them: immediately after inhaling the killer gas he managed to get back to the surface, he is now in a coma. Among the victims is the temporary worker: he had heard the screams of his colleagues and came running. He didn’t make it. «Yet another unacceptable massacre at work must forcefully reiterate the need for a common commitment that must concern social forces, entrepreneurs and institutions», President Mattarella’s warning from New York.
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Many deaths from gases in “confined environments”
THE FIREFIGHTERS they intervened after the 112 call arrived at 1.48pm, reaching Casteldaccia after about fifteen minutes. But a worker who was doing gardening work in the Duca di Salaparuta winery, which is located a few meters away, claims to have heard the screams around midday. There was a gap of 1 hour and 48 minutes between the time indicated by the witness and the call to 112. The Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office, which has opened an investigation, is investigating to trace the dynamics also through the testimonies of the 4 who escaped the massacre. The firefighters have ruled out the possibility of structural failure of the attic. After seeing some of the corpses, Nuccia Albano, Councilor for Labor in Sicily with long experience as a forensic doctor, had no doubts: “I saw the faces, the color made me think of intoxication.” A big question mark remains: why would workers considered experts have lowered themselves without protective equipment? “It’s absurd, the smell was such that it’s not understandable why they didn’t protect themselves,” comments Amap president Alessandro Di Martino. It is not clear whether the workers had the necessary and mandatory training by safety law. One of the elements that investigators are investigating.
Harrowing the pain of relatives. When she passes the protective tape, placed to isolate the area, a woman freezes. She looks to her right. Parked, close to the pavement, there is a car: it is an Alfa Romeo Stelvio: “Dad’s car”, she cries and despairs. CGIL, CISL and UIL have proclaimed a 4-hour general strike for today in the province of Palermo and 8 hours for construction workers.
