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Work accident: five dead in Casteldaccia in the Palermo area. Mattarella: yet another unacceptable massacre

Hydrogen sulphide intoxication causing respiratory tract irritation and suffocation is conceivable

by Nino Amadore

6 May 2024

Parenti delle vittime del tragico incidente sul lavoro a Casteldaccia

6' min read

Key points

The first reconstructions of the accident: two hypotheses
Governor Schifani: "Deep sorrow"
Meloni: "Let there be full light on this tragedy"
In Sicily last year 65 work-related deaths: 16 in Palermo

6' min read

Five dead, one seriously injured transported intubated to the Policlinico di Palermo and in a coma, and one slightly injured. They died one after the other after falling into a manhole of the sewage system, located under the Duca di Salaparuta winery in Casteldaccia in the Palermo area. This is the balance and the first reconstruction of the tragic work accident in Casteldaccia where six workers were trapped while carrying out work in the sewers and allegedly breathed in toxic black water fumes. The workers were working on the maintenance of the Amap sewage lifting plant on the Casteldaccia seafront and not in a wine tank owned by Corvo wines as the agencies initially wrote. According to a reconstruction, after the first worker remained underground without coming out, the others climbed down to see what was happening. The seventh member of the team, not seeing his colleagues come out, raised the alarm.

Construction manager and Amap safety manager questioned

The director of works and the safety manager appointed by Amap were questioned by the police investigating the massacre at the behest of the Termini Imerese public prosecutor's office, which has opened an enquiry.

The first reconstructions of the accident: two hypotheses

Fire brigade teams arrived in Casteldaccia at 2pm to rescue workers taken ill inside the sewage treatment tank. Six workers, of the seven involved, who were in Casteldaccia working on the sewage works are employees of the Quadrifoglio group srl company from Partinico (Palermo): this is a company working on behalf of Palermo's municipally-owned company Amap, which is in charge of water management in the city and some municipalities in the province. These are the names of the five victims: Epifanio Assazia, 71, who is supposed to be the co-owner of the Quadrifoglio company; Giuseppe Miraglia, Roberto Raneri, 50, Ignazio Giordano, 59, and Giuseppe La Barbera.

According to the secretary of the Sicilian CGIL, Alfio Mannino, who went to the site, there were two hypotheses on the causes of the workplace massacre in Casteldaccia, where five workers who were carrying out maintenance work on the sewer network died: gas inhalation or a structural failure. Among the hypotheses was hydrogen sulphide poisoning, which causes irritation of the respiratory tract and suffocation. but in the late afternoon came the confirmation: they died of gas inhalation. "If all the necessary precautions had been taken, none of this would have happened," said the provincial commander of the Palermo fire brigade, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, and confirmed that it was hydrogen sulphide exhalations that killed the victims and ruled out the possibility of a collapse inside the sewers.

Governor Schifani: 'Deep sorrow'

"It is a deep sorrow that I felt at the news of the death of the workers in Casteldaccia," was the comment of the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, in Rome for the Council of Ministers meeting on the water emergency in Sicily. On my own behalf and on behalf of the entire cabinet, I express my sincerest condolences to the families of the victims for the terrible and unexpected tragedy that has struck them'. The President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, delegated Councillor for Labour Nuccia Albano to travel to Casteldaccia to represent the regional government. Regional Councillor for Productive Activities Edy Tamajo meanwhile says: 'At this time of pain and difficulty, we are close to the victims' relatives and share their grief. Words may be insufficient in the face of such an unjust loss. I hope that light will be shed on the incident as soon as possible. Such incidents must never happen again.

The condolences of the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa: 'It is with deep sorrow that I learnt the news of the serious accident at work that occurred in the Palermo area and led to the death of five workers. My sincerest condolences go to their families and to the community of Casteldaccia'.

Meloni: 'Let there be full light on this tragedy'

"Let there be full light shed on this tragedy," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X: "We are shocked by the news of the workers involved in the tragic accident in Casteldaccia, in the Palermo area. To the families of the victims my deepest condolences, together with the feeling of closeness towards the worker who is currently in the reanimation ward at the Policlinico hospital in Palermo'. Labour Minister Marina Calderone telephoned the Sicilian governor: 'I express my deep sorrow for the workers who died at work in Casteldaccia and my closeness to the families,' she said. 'I express my deepest condolences for the tragic loss of five workers in the work accident in Casteldaccia,' said the Minister for Institutional Reforms and Regulatory Simplification Elisabetta Casellati. 'My thoughts are with the families of the victims to whom my sympathy goes in this time of mourning and grief. Tragedies like this are unacceptable: working to ensure safety at work is one of the government's priorities, but promoting safe and dignified working conditions for all workers requires a collective commitment'. And the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto: 'I am saddened by what happened in Casteldaccia: a new unacceptable tragedy at work, on whose causes I hope light will be shed as soon as possible. In this moment of pain for the whole country, my thoughts are with the five dead workers, the injured colleagues and the families shattered by this tragedy'.

"This is a huge tragedy. We are shocked. Five young people died for a piece of bread. It is inconceivable,' says the mayor of Casteldaccia, Giovanni Di Giacinto. And a condolence message was posted on Facebook: 'The municipal administration of Casteldaccia expresses its sorrow for the tragedy that is upsetting our community on this sad day. Condolences to the families of the deceased workers'. And the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla: 'A terrible sorrow for the tragedy that caused the death of the workers in Casteldaccia at work. To their families and colleagues go the condolences and sympathy of the municipal administration'.

In Sicily last year 65 work-related deaths: 16 in Palermo

In Sicily, say the trade unions, a worker died in Floridia last week, in 2023 there were 65 victims, 16 of whom in Palermo. "The Casteldaccia tragedy responds to a pattern that has been repeated too often in recent months. It will be up to the judiciary to shed light on the causes, but it will also have to be clarified whether the safety regulations have been respected and the consequent responsibilities of the companies and the client," reads a joint note from the secretaries of the Sicilian CGIL, CISL and UIL, Alfio Mannino, Sebastiano Cappuccio and Luisella Lionti -. Sicily is still mourning deaths at work. Growing figures- they reveal- but not that of the personnel of the labour inspectorates, marked by deep staff shortages that we have been denouncing in vain for time. There were 1,043 deaths at work in Italy last year. To promote safety in every workplace, to urge the appropriate interventions - Mannino, Cappuccio and Lionti state -, is our duty. To the families of the victims we express our condolences'..

Tomorrow there will be a four-hour general strike and an eight-hour strike of the construction workers in the province of Palermo: this was announced by Piero Ceraulo, secretary of the Palermo CGIL construction workers, who together with other union leaders is in Casteldaccia where five workers died. A garrison is planned in front of the Prefecture at 9am.

"The terrible workplace massacre that occurred today in the Palermo area shocks and outrages us," says Paolo Capone, Ugl general secretary. "While waiting for the police to shed full light on the causes of the incident, we reiterate our condolences to the families of the victims. It is unacceptable to witness this dramatic trail of bloodshed. We are facing a real national emergency that cannot be classified as a mere fatality. The phenomenon of so-called white deaths cannot be tolerated in an advanced country whose Constitution is based on the right to work. The death toll in Italy shows an unsustainable trend for which indignation is no longer needed'.

"The work accident in Casteldaccia leaves us dismayed. We express our condolences and sympathy to the families of the workers involved and call for the causes of this umpteenth serious and unacceptable work accident to be ascertained as soon as possible. Safety at work is a national emergency and as such must be addressed at every level, involving unions, companies and institutions,' say Giuseppe Badagliacca and Daniele Ciulla of Federerenergia Cisal.

Mattarella, in Casteldaccia yet another unacceptable massacre

President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, on a visit to New York, expressed his condolences for the serious workplace tragedy that claimed the lives of five workers in Casteldaccia, in the province of Palermo. "I hope that full light will be shed on the dynamics of the accident. But the umpteenth unacceptable workplace massacre - just a few days before 1 May - must forcefully reiterate the need for a common commitment that must involve the social forces, entrepreneurs and institutions in charge".

Landini, "what kills is the system of contracting and precariousness"

"A business model based on contracting, subcontracting and precariousness is a model that kills. A system based on cutting costs and working time does not respect the rights and protections of workers and must be changed immediately'. This was said by the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, after the massacre in Casteldaccia. "The massacre is daily and endless: we must stop it," he says, calling for "a real negotiation at the Council presidency to change the system". And, he adds, 'it is right to strike and as a first act, Cgil Cisl, Uil of Palermo have called a four-hour strike for tomorrow'.