Scampia, Vela eviction ordered in 2015: never carried out

Not only the document dated 2016 that denounced the lack of maintenance of the balconies of the Vela Celeste in Scampia with related risk of collapse, from the past also emerges an order of forced eviction of the building signed in 2015 by the then mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris and never executed. This was revealed by the Corriere del Mezzogiorno, citing a document of the City of Naples published on the municipal notice board in October 2015

The investigation into the collapse of the Vela, which has caused three deaths, will be long and complex: technical data will have to be investigated in depth and specialist knowledge will be needed. This will be done by the professional chosen by the public prosecutor's office in Naples, who will carry out an initial expert report. His work at the scene of the disaster will provide a starting point from which the investigators will be able to assess the need for other experts. The file is in the hands of deputy prosecutors Manuela Persico and Mario Canale, of the 'Work and Professional Fault' section, coordinated, at the moment, by assistant prosecutor Sergio Amato. Deputy Prosecutor Simona Di Monte heads the section.

The investigation focuses on the lack of maintenance, the alarms that went unheeded and the interventions carried out over the years, whether legitimate or illegitimate. The Naples Mobile Squad is acquiring documents and verifying whether the procedures that have affected the structure in recent years were correctly carried out, starting with static checks and maintenance. Particular attention is being paid to the search for any reports of damage (such as the one in 2016 on structural risks that went unheeded, also concerning the walkways, highlighted in the call 'Restart Scampia'): the aim is to find a causal link between the unheeded appeals and Monday night's serious collapse.

The agents of the Scampia police station, meanwhile, are also continuing to listen to witnesses with the aim of acquiring as much information about the serious accident as possible. At the Santobono paediatric hospital, the conditions of the two girls, aged 7 and 4, remain very serious but stable. For the other five, who are also being closely monitored, moderate optimism is emerging. Also very serious is a woman admitted to the Cardarelli hospital with a head injury: she underwent neurosurgery to reduce intracranial pressure. The prefect of Naples, Michele di Bari, took stock of the situation of 500 evacuees. Most of them, he explained, are staying with relatives, 70 with associations and 150 at the Scampia campus of the Federico II University, where all the necessary services have been activated. The prefect himself pointed out that the water supply has been restored in the vela celeste and 'many lodgings are already habitable'.