FLORENCE. During the night, the fourth victim was extracted from the rubble of the Esselunga construction site in Florence Rifredi. Of the eight people involved in the failure of the reinforced concrete architrave which yesterday morning marked the beginning of a new tragedy at work in Italy, one is still buried by the collapse and officially listed as missing, even though, 24 hours later, the hopes of finding her alive are minimal.
Florence, the moment of the collapse at the Esselunga construction site: the video
Three other men, however, are safe, out of danger and being treated at the Rifredi hospital, with a reserved prognosis. Thus begins the day of citizen mourning announced today in the Tuscan capital by the mayor Dario Nardella: the USAR teams of the Fire Brigade continue their searches incessantly, moving as if in an earthquake area and with caution. Dogs, drones, and large cranes that lift fragments of concrete slowly, to avoid new collapses. The majority of victims, missing and injured people are foreign nationals, classified, according to the complaint by the Florentine secretary of Fillea Cgil, Marco Carletti, in a contract as metalworkers and not as construction workers. So, paid less than they should be and sent to the workplace without mandatory professional training.
Florence, here's what the firefighters are doing
Florence, the massacre of the workers
from our correspondent LODOVICO POLETTO
Eugenia Cocolas, an eyewitness to the event, reports that “shortly before 10.00, a concrete mixer was unloading cement onto the attic of the top floor”. From the window of her apartment, the woman counted “five or six people on the floor, when it gave way, taking a wall with it”. «An enormous cloud of smoke immediately rose and I was afraid of dying», says Cocolas. The man who operated the concrete mixer is the only dead person identified so far. His name was Luigi Coclite, he was 60 years old, he was born in Montorio al Vomano, in the province of Teramo, he lived in Collesalveti in the province of Livorno, he was separated and had two children who were little more than teenagers.
The massacre of the workers, Luigi and his travel colleagues crushed by the concrete: “It looked like a bomb”
Philip Fiorini
The images from the drone of the construction site in Florence where there was a collapse
The workers involved in the accident were both above and below the fallen floor, which then crushed the levels below, compressing them. The construction site is located in a former military area, where the Esselunga supermarkets are building a new point of sale. It is a rectangular plan of approximately 5 thousand square metres, at the southern end of which an external wall spilled into the street, fortunately limiting itself to damaging a parked school bus. The Florence prosecutor's office has opened a case, currently without suspects, for negligent collapse and manslaughter. The construction site ended up under seizure. The ASL technicians are listening to construction site staff, as well as the labor inspectorate.
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The story of the witnesses: “A great roar”
«I was sitting in my living room, which overlooks the construction site, when at a certain point I heard a noise and saw that an attic had collapsed and I saw a cloud of dust rising and some workers running in the direction of the collapse». It is the story of Miriam, a resident who lives near the construction site in via Mariti in Florence, and who practically saw the collapse live. «It was before nine-she added-she. From the window I saw a broken beam where the collapse occurred. I didn't know there was anyone left under the rubble. Then the ambulances, the firefighters and everyone else arrived.” Very similar, as reported by Francesco Sciascia. His electronics shop is located on a side street a few meters from the point where an external wall of the structure collapsed, hitting a school bus. «He had the effect of a bomb», says the man, who immediately after the noise, reports having heard «the workers shouting in search of their colleagues who remained below».
Florence, a witness speaks: “It was like a bomb!”
Regional general strike in Tuscany yesterday, in the last two hours of the shift: it was called by CGIL, CISL and UIL after the serious accident that occurred this morning in Florence on the construction site of a new supermarket. «We appeal to institutions, the world of business and politics, control bodies, no more deaths at work!», say the unions in a joint note. Usb, Cobas, Cub, Si Cobas and Usi have called for a strike by workers in the private sector in the province of Florence for the entire day on Monday 19 February, with a demonstration in front of the Prefecture from 10am. «We ask for immediate approval – we read in a note – of a law that introduces the crime of murder and serious and very serious injuries at work. We also call for the immediate discontinuation of the procurement and sub-contracting system.”
Florence, the damage after the collapse at the Esselunga construction site: images from above
Usb also announced a protest in Rome in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor on 20 February, inviting all local and trade structures to activate the mobilization and call strikes in the various sectors. «I sincerely thank the President of the Republic Mattarella for expressing his closeness and condolences to me on the phone for the tragedy at the Florence construction site. I have proclaimed city mourning for today with suspension of all events. I will bring forward my return from the Holy Land with the first available flight.” The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, announced it with a post on his social profiles.
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