As of: February 17, 2024, 7:40 a.m
By: Moritz Bletzinger
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Construction site accident in Italy: rescue workers search for survivors under the supermarket rubble.
© Vigili del Fuoco
Accident in Florence (Italy).
A huge concrete beam collapsed at a supermarket construction site.
At least three people are dead and the search is underway among the rubble.
Florence - A field of rubble in the middle of Florence (Italy) on the Via Martini.
The Italian firefighters tirelessly dig through the rubble.
At a supermarket construction site, a concrete beam weighing several tons broke and took down two floors.
The accident occurred late on Friday morning (February 16).
At least three dead in construction site accident in Florence
By evening, the fire brigade had rescued three people alive from the rubble.
Three others died in the accident, two others are still missing (as of February 17, 7:15 a.m.).
The fire department (Vigili del Fuoco) announced this via X.
The civil protection officer of Florence provides the same information via Facebook.
He writes: “Three construction workers were killed while working in the heart of Florence.”
It was initially difficult to estimate how many people were buried.
30 subcontractors worked on the construction site for the new branch of the Esselunga chain.
A roll call later in the day brought clarification.
Reason for collapse at supermarket construction site unclear: public prosecutor's office is investigating manslaughter
The reason for the massive collapse is not yet clear.
The accident probably occurred when construction workers wanted to use prefabricated concrete parts.
Florence public prosecutor Filippo Spiezia suspects that a tooth on the column that held the reinforced concrete beam may have failed.
The public prosecutor's office has opened proceedings for multiple manslaughter.
The local Florence newspaper
La Nazione
writes about pain and anger in one of the most livable cities in the country.
Even more: “Italy in shock.” The accident apparently happened unexpectedly and at lightning speed.
One of the injured tells the newspaper: “Everything collapsed.” There will be city mourning on Saturday, and all Esselunga supermarkets were closed on Friday out of sympathy.
The incident is reminiscent of the construction site accident in Hamburg in October last year.
At that time, five workers died in Hafencity.
(moe)