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1 March 2024
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Five dead and three seriously injured after collapse on construction site in Italy
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Five workers were killed and three seriously injured after a slab collapsed at a construction site in the Italian city of Florence, reviving concerns about work safety standards in the country. The workers died on Friday morning, 16 February 2024, while building a supermarket for the Esselunga chain. Italian media said the victims were an Italian man, three Moroccans and a Tunisian. Firefighters pulled out three survivors, who were taken to hospital and four bodies. On Saturday, they were trying to extract the last person still trapped under rubble, in operations they described as "complex".
In a moment that turned an ordinary day at a construction site in Florence into a scene of urgency and fear, scaffolding gave way, leaving workers buried under a heap of metal and debris. The calamity, striking in the heart of the bustling city, prompted an immediate and heroic response from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) unit, who managed to pull three workers from the rubble alive.
Rescue efforts mobilise with hope and precision
From the moment the distress call was made, Florence became the epicentre of a formidable rescue operation. Four dedicated teams of emergency responders, including the USAR unit firefighters, sprang into action, their efforts fuelled by hope and unwavering determination.
The scene at the construction site, marked by the twisted remains of what once was a scaffold, became a battleground against time and uncertainty.
Utilising advanced technology such as drones and search-and-rescue dogs, alongside specialised teams adept at navigating through the perilous aftermath of such collapses, the rescue operation unfolded with precision and care. Every sound was a signal, every movement a sign of life, as the teams worked tirelessly since 09h00am, scouring the debris for signs of the missing workers.
Officials said after preliminary assessments of the site, the accident happened due to a "structural collapse" of the concrete beam, which may have been caused by a defect in the way it was made.
Florence prosecutors have ordered an investigation into the collapse.
The president of the Tuscany region, which comprises Florence, said rescuers believed the last missing person was dead. "We can now say that there are five dead", Eugenio Giani told a local radio. Accidents on work sites are fairly common in Italy: the country had 601 workplace deaths in 2021, the second-highest figure in the European Union after France, according to the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat.
Pope Francis on Saturday joined Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other Italian officials in expressing grief for the Florence deaths, and called for "more efforts from those responsible for protecting workers".
Source: Vigili del Fuoco, Reuters, Sky News, BNN
In a moment that turned an ordinary day at a construction site in Florence into a scene of urgency and fear, scaffolding gave way, leaving workers buried under a heap of metal and debris. The calamity, striking in the heart of the bustling city, prompted an immediate and heroic response from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) unit, who managed to pull three workers from the rubble alive.
Rescue efforts mobilise with hope and precision
From the moment the distress call was made, Florence became the epicentre of a formidable rescue operation. Four dedicated teams of emergency responders, including the USAR unit firefighters, sprang into action, their efforts fuelled by hope and unwavering determination.
The scene at the construction site, marked by the twisted remains of what once was a scaffold, became a battleground against time and uncertainty.
Utilising advanced technology such as drones and search-and-rescue dogs, alongside specialised teams adept at navigating through the perilous aftermath of such collapses, the rescue operation unfolded with precision and care. Every sound was a signal, every movement a sign of life, as the teams worked tirelessly since 09h00am, scouring the debris for signs of the missing workers.
Officials said after preliminary assessments of the site, the accident happened due to a "structural collapse" of the concrete beam, which may have been caused by a defect in the way it was made.
Florence prosecutors have ordered an investigation into the collapse.
The president of the Tuscany region, which comprises Florence, said rescuers believed the last missing person was dead. "We can now say that there are five dead", Eugenio Giani told a local radio. Accidents on work sites are fairly common in Italy: the country had 601 workplace deaths in 2021, the second-highest figure in the European Union after France, according to the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat.
Pope Francis on Saturday joined Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other Italian officials in expressing grief for the Florence deaths, and called for "more efforts from those responsible for protecting workers".
Source: Vigili del Fuoco, Reuters, Sky News, BNN
