As the regional president of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani, announced, five injured people are in serious condition in hospital following the accident in a former monastery near the town of Pistoia, north of Florence, but their lives are not in danger. The injured also include some children and the newlywed couple.
As Italian media reported, around 60 wedding guests had been dancing in a room on the first floor of the 15th-century building when the floor beneath them gave way. Some people fell four meters into the room below. “I’m shocked, it might have been a bloodbath,” said the groom’s father.
More than 100 rescue workers from the fire department, police and civil defense were deployed at the scene of the accident. Investigations are underway into the causes of the accident. Most of the guests came from Florence and the surrounding area and had chosen the former monastery, a building from the early 15th century, for their wedding.
Celebration with 150 guests
150 guests were present at the wedding reception. At the time of the collapse, regarding sixty people, the youngest, were dancing in an upstairs room. Suddenly they found themselves on the ground floor, in the former refectory, which was covered in rubble.
Numerous guests stayed in the garden for a long time, waiting to be evacuated. They were provided with warming blankets. To make it easier for ambulances to travel, an access road to the former monastery was closed.
