It all happens in a few moments. Suddenly the three workers who are in the underground tank of the wastewater lifting plant of the municipal aqueducts company (Amap) of Palermo can no longer breathe. They are intoxicated. They get trapped by hydrogen sulphide fumes while carrying out maintenance work. They raise the alarm. Two other colleagues enter the wastewater tank, but are also trapped. A sixth goes down into the tub to lend a hand, but also loses consciousness.
The balance of a tragedy
The toll is tragic: five dead and the sixth worker in a deep coma. It happened on the state road in Casteldaccia, not far from the Corvo di Salaparuta winery, which however is unrelated to what happened. The victims were Epifanio Alsazia, 71 years old, the co-owner of the Quadrifoglio group srl company in Partinico, which was carrying out the contract work, Giuseppe Miraglia, Roberto Raneri, 50 years old, Ignazio Giordano, 59 years old and Giuseppe La Barbera.
The protective masks
When they were rescued none of them were wearing the protective mask required by law. As confirmed to Adnkronos by the provincial commander of the Palermo fire brigade Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, who arrived immediately at the site of the tragedy. “We did not find the masks next to the workers. Probably, if all the necessary precautions had been taken, all of this would not have happened.” Bentivoglio confirmed that hydrogen sulphide fumes killed the workers. The same Commander also excluded a rumor that had circulated in the afternoon: “There was no collapse or failure of the sewers.” Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese (Palermo) has opened an investigation, coordinated by Ambrogio Cartosio, who came to the site of the tragedy. In total, four workers survived the Casteldaccia tragedy. A worker from the Quadrifoglio group company is hospitalized in intensive care at the Palermo Polyclinic. This is Domenico Viola, 62 years old, from Partinico. He is in a medically induced coma. The other three are in good condition.
Near the wastewater tank, the only survivor who is well is walking up and down. His name is Giovanni D’Aleo and he works for Amap. He is wearing the company’s fluorescent yellow suit. He doesn’t really want to talk. “Suddenly I heard my colleagues screaming, and I immediately raised the alarm. I feel like a miracle worker,” he tells Adnkronos. “I’m in shock. I don’t want to say anything else.” The young man was also interviewed by the police and by this evening his testimony will be formalized at the Bagheria police station (Palermo).
The torment of family members
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, the families of the victims of the accident at work arrive one by one, accompanied by the police. The area is patrolled by carabinieri and police. They cry, scream the names of their loved ones, hug each other. They look for answers, which don’t come. “How could this happen?”, they keep saying.
The works arranged by Amap
The workers arrived this morning, around eleven, to follow the works along state road 113. Work was decided after reports of some alleged anomalies in the sewer system, near a hotel. To carry out the works, Amap appointed the Quadrifoglio Group company for every verification activity of the sewerage section in question. The works, which involved raising the wells and unblocking them with the aid of a vacuum truck, began on 29 April and have continued until today. “I would like to express my most sincere condolences to the families of the workers involved in this tragedy,” says Alessandro Di Martino, sole director of Amap, who arrived at the site of the disaster.
In the afternoon, the Prefect of Palermo Massimo Mariani, the police commissioner Maurizio Calvino and the mayor of Palermo Roberto Lagalla and of Casteldaccia Giovanni Di Giacinto also came. “There is an ongoing investigation and it is right that the judicial authorities do their job. I came here because it is a tragic event that affects the families of the victims – says the Prefect -. At this moment we can only express our pain. We must do more and better to prevent these terrible tragedies from happening again.” While Mayor Lagalla says: “A tragedy whose causes are in the hands of those who have the task of investigating to ascertain any responsibilities. The community can only join in the crying that increasingly involves our nation. We hope that it is a spiral that can be stopped and certainly the issue of deaths at work becomes more and more tragic and closer to each of us”.
Strike
Meanwhile, for tomorrow the unions have announced a 4-hour and 8-hour general strike for construction workers in the province of Palermo. This was announced by Piero Ceraulo, secretary of the construction workers of the CGIL of Palermo who together with other union leaders is in Casteldaccia after the death of the 5 workers. A demonstration is planned in front of the Prefecture at 9am.
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