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Four people died and another is missing. There is great consternation in Italy following the collapse of a construction site in Florence. “We have to stop the blood trail.â€
Florence – The collapse of a supermarket construction site in Florence claimed at least four lives. There is deep consternation in Italy and a city of mourning was declared in the Tuscan capital on Saturday. Meanwhile, firefighters continue to search for a missing person in the rubble of the planned Esselunga branch. The accident occurred in the heart of the busy working-class neighborhood of Novoli.
Large-scale operation and investigations following the collapse of a supermarket construction site in Florence. © Vigili del Fuoco
Collapse at supermarket construction site in Florence: consternation in Italy – terrible descriptions
Local newspaper La Nazione reports: “There has never been such a massacre here before.” According to the newspaper, eyewitnesses describe scenes that occurred at the construction site. A woman who works at a nearby hair salon recalls: “An earthquake, I immediately thought of an earthquake. Then those screams. So strong, so cruel, that I can still hear them in my ears.”
A waitress at a nearby cafe says she “screamed and screamed”. She was serving workers nearly three hours before the disaster. “At six o'clock they were drinking coffee and smiling…†she says. Then came the devastating collapse of a multi-ton reinforced concrete beam.
Accident at construction site in Italy: rescue teams search for survivors under the rubble of the supermarket. © Vigili del Fuoco
Many passersby witnessed the accident. Two of them report seeing a face covered in blood and dust. “We looked at the fence and saw an injured man. He wanted to get up, but we told him: don't move, stay calm, the ambulance is coming”, they say. The first rescue teams arrived about ten minutes later. The region's fire departments are tried and tested; Severe storms recently ravaged Tuscany last summer.
Is there no iron in the steel beam? Worker makes serious accusations after construction site collapse
The Fire Department managed to rescue three men alive from the rubble. “I fell into the void, it was hell,” one of them, Cristinel Spataru, told La Nazione the next morning. He was pouring concrete on the iron roof railing when everything around him collapsed.
The concrete pillar collapsed two floors and caused a third to collapse. Critical voices immediately became loud in Italy. Several media outlets suspect material defects or poor design. The worker Spataru has a suspicion and a serious accusation: “You can see that there was no iron in the beam”.
Disagreements at a construction site in Florence – deaths cause protests in Italy
The CGIL union center points out contractual differences at the construction site. “The victims are workers who were subject to metalwork contracts, but who carried out construction work”, says secretary Daniele Calosi to La Nazione: “A contract that has lower costs is used to save money”. According to media reports, most of the men involved in the accident come from Romania. The Public Prosecutor's Office has already inspected the ruins of the construction site and has not ruled out the possibility of crime. He is being investigated for multiple homicides.
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, said in an interview with Corriere della Sera: “We have been denouncing the gigantic problem of subcontracting for years.” He emphasizes: “Now is the time to mourn, but from tomorrow we must say seriously and once and for all: we are tired of crying.” The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, also calls for more security at construction sites and says: œ “Obviously something did not go well in this case.”
“We have to stop the trail of blood”: Unions call strike after construction site collapse
The CGIL and UIL unions have called a national strike on Wednesday (February 21). They speak of “another unbearable workplace tragedy” and demand: “We must end the trail of blood and we must do it now. Putting the protection of life first.” (moe)
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