5 Dead After Inhaling Hazardous Gas at a Water Plant in Sicily

Europe|5 Dead After Inhaling Hazardous Gas astatine a Water Plant successful Sicily

Five workers died connected Monday day portion moving successful a sewer connected to a h2o attraction works successful the municipality of Casteldaccia adjacent Palermo, Sicily, according to firefighters who recovered the bodies. A sixth idiosyncratic was earnestly injured and successful intensive care, section officials said.

Girolamo Bentivoglio, main of firefighters successful Palermo, said the workers had breathed successful hydrogen sulfide, a state often contiguous astatine discarded attraction plants that is toxic successful precocious concentrations. Levels were truthful precocious astatine the tract wherever the workers were killed, “that fatality is immediate,” Mr. Bentivoglio said successful a televised interrogation connected RaiNews24, the nationalist broadcaster’s quality channel.

The mishap raised a caller circular of outrage implicit the incidence of workplace deaths successful Italy. In April, 7 workers were killed successful an detonation successful a hydroelectric works near Bologna, portion 5 died successful Florence during the operation of a supermarket successful February.

According to the European statistic bureau Eurostat, Italy ranks eighth among European countries successful fatal accidents astatine work, with an incidence of 2.66 per 100,000 employed, which is higher than the European Union mean of 1.76, but little than France’s 3.32.

“Had they adopted each the precautions, each the information measures, including idiosyncratic protective equipment, we wouldn’t person been faced with this scenario,” Mr. Bentivoglio said.

According to Inail, the National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents astatine Work, determination person been 191 work-related deaths successful the archetypal 3 months of 2024.

“The calamity of Casteldaccia responds to a signifier that has been repeated excessively often successful caller months,” the leaders of 3 Sicilian commercialized unions said successful a associated connection published by Italian quality outlets.

The causes of the mishap would person to beryllium verified, arsenic good arsenic the responsibilities of the companies progressive and the question of whether information regulations had been complied with, the unions said.

While workplace deaths continued to occur, the offices that monitored workplace information remained understaffed, they added.

“Sicily erstwhile again mourns its dormant successful the workplace,” they wrote.

In a station connected the societal web X, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy called for “full airy to beryllium shed connected this tragedy.”

The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, said “this latest unacceptable workplace massacre,” indispensable service to reiterate the request for communal committedness involving unions, entrepreneurs and institutions, the Italian quality bureau ANSA reported.

The 5 workers who died Monday were carrying retired enactment for Amap, which manages the integrated h2o work — including h2o purification and organisation for residential use, and discarded h2o attraction — for the City of Palermo and the smaller municipalities that gravitate astir the Sicilian capital. Only 1 of the 5 workers was an Amap employee; the others worked for a institution that had subcontracted the work, Italian quality media reported.

Giovanni Di Giacinto, the politician of Casteldaccia, said successful a telephone interrogation that investigations into the mishap were underway. “It’s an immense tragedy,” helium said.