The conditions of Domenico Viola, 62 years old, an employee of the Quadrifoglio Group, involved in the workplace accident which last Monday claimed the lives of 4 colleagues from the same company and a temporary worker, who died suffocated by hydrogen sulphide fumes, are still very serious. while they were carrying out maintenance work on the sewerage network in Casteldaccia.
The man, the only one still alive extracted from the “room” 3 meters underground in the sewage system, was immediately intubated and admitted to intensive care at the Polyclinic. The doctors, who speak of “multi-organ failure”, are trying to understand what damage he has suffered to vital systems.
Meanwhile, the autopsies of the 5 dead workers have been postponed to tomorrow at the Palermo Polyclinic. The Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the dramatic accident at work for multiple manslaughter. The setting of the medical-legal examinations, unrepeatable investigations, could lead to the first notices of investigation, starting from tomorrow: a necessary act to give the people involved in various capacities in the matter the possibility of appointing their own consultants so that they can participate in the autopsies.
According to initial reconstructions, the victims worked for the Quadrifoglio Group which had been subcontracted by Tek for the maintenance work on the sewerage network of Casteldaccia and other municipalities, work outsourced by Amap, the municipal company of the capital, and should not have fallen into the plant but they would have had to proceed with clearing the manholes from the street. The vacuum truck probe, which they should have lowered from the outside – the manhole had been covered with asphalt in previous road works – would have blocked and the workers would have asked permission from the Amap works director to go underground. The cap that prevented the probe from purging would have blown and the first 3 employees would have been hit by sewage and lethal gas, would have lost consciousness and would have fallen into the tank below. Three other workers would have come down to help them. Two are dead, one is dying.
The investigations aim to clarify any safety gaps – none of the workers were wearing masks -, with what criteria the staff who were not specialized and would not have followed safety courses were selected and why the Amap technician authorized the victims to go down to the room of the plant. The chain of responsibility in supervising work subcontracted to the company also needs to be clarified.
