As of: February 17, 2024, 11:53 a.m
By: Moritz Bletzinger
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Large-scale operation and investigations after the collapse of a supermarket construction site in Florence.
© Vigili del Fuoco
Day of Mourning in Florence.
And the search among the rubble of the supermarket construction site is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, angry voices are raised and details become known.
Florence – At least four people have died when a supermarket construction site collapsed in Florence.
The shock in Italy is great; on Saturday a city mourning was declared in the capital of Tuscany.
And this while firefighters are still digging through the rubble of the planned Esselunga branch for a missing man.
In the heart of the vibrant working-class district of Novoli.
Accident at supermarket construction site shocks Italy: media from Florence speak of a “massacre”
“Such a massacre has never occurred here before,” writes the local newspaper
La Nazione
.
According to the paper, eyewitnesses report frightening scenes that took place at the construction site.
“An earthquake, I immediately thought of an earthquake.
Then those screams.
So strong, cruel that I can still hear it in my ears,” says a woman who works in a hair salon down the street.
The barmaid at a nearby cafe reported “yelling and screaming.”
She had been entertaining the workers just a few hours before the accident.
“At six o’clock they were drinking coffee and smiling…” she says.
Then the momentous collapse of a multi-ton reinforced concrete girder.
Construction worker reports on construction site collapse: “I fell into the void, it was hell”
A number of passersby witnessed the accident.
Two of them say they saw 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 workers were on site around ten minutes later.
The fire department was able to rescue three men alive from the rubble.
One of them, Cristinel Spataru, spoke to La Nazione
from the hospital the following morning
.
He remembers: “I fell into the void, it was hell.” The Romanian guest worker had just been pouring concrete on the iron grate of the roof when everything around him collapsed.
The fact that he was higher up than his three deceased colleagues probably saved his life.
Violent allegations after the collapse of a supermarket construction site: “No iron in the beams”
The concrete pylon swept away two floors and caused a third to collapse.
How could that happen?
Critical voices were immediately heard in Italy.
Various media suspect either material defects or poor design.
Construction worker Spataru has a suspicion and with it a serious accusation: “You can see that there was no iron in the beam.”
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The CGIL trade union federation speaks of contractual inconsistencies on the construction site.
“The victims are workers who had metal work contracts but who carried out construction work,” says secretary Daniele Calosi to
La Nazione
: “A contract is used that has lower costs in order to save money.” The men involved in the accident According to media reports, most of those involved in the supermarket construction site are from Romania.
The public prosecutor's office has already gotten a picture of the ruined construction site.
And does not rule out foul play, investigations into multiple homicides.
Mayors and interior ministers speak of problems - unions call for a strike
“For years we have denounced the gigantic problem of subcontracting,” says the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, in an interview with
Corriere della Sera
.
He emphasizes: “Now is the time of mourning, but from tomorrow we have to say seriously and once and for all: We are tired of crying.” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also calls for more security on construction sites and says: “Obviously in this one In case something didn’t go well.”
Meanwhile, the CGIL and UIL unions have called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday (February 21).
They speak of “another unbearable workplace tragedy” and make it clear: “We must stop the trail of blood and we must do it now.
Putting the protection of life first.”
(moe)