five deaths from toxic fumes –

Yet another massacre at work in Italy. In Casteldaccia, in the province of Palermo, five workers, out of a group of seven, lost their lives following being trapped while working to repair a submersible pump located in the sewer system near the Corvo winery. The workers died due to intoxication caused by the fumes.

It all happened around 2pm today: several teams of firefighters intervened in via Nazionale at a waste water lifting plant of the Amato company, to rescue some workers from Amap, the company that manages the water pipes and sewerage in Palermo, who fell ill during some maintenance work inside the wastewater purification tank. 2 fire brigade teams from the Brancaccio and Termini Imerese detachments intervened on site with the support of the Saf team (alpine river speleo), the divers and the Nncr unit (nuclear bacteriological, chemical and radiological). 7 workers were recovered (of these 5 were lifeless whose death was confirmed by the medical staff present on site), one worker was transported to hospital and one worker was unharmed. Spresal technicians are also present on site for the relevant investigations and State Police personnel.

«What I felt when I heard the news of the death of the workers in Casteldaccia was profound pain. On behalf of myself and the entire council I express my most sincere condolences to the families of the victims for the terrible and unexpected tragedy that has struck them”, the comment of the president of the Sicily Region Renato Schifani on the workers who were at work under a wine cellar.