Five workers were killed and three others were seriously injured after part of a building collapsed at a construction site in Italy.
About eight workers were buried under rubble after a concrete beam and slabs collapsed at the site of a new supermarket in Florence on Friday morning.
The head of the Tuscany region, which includes Florence, confirmed on Saturday that the body of a fifth person had been recovered after rescue teams continued the “complex” operation to reach those trapped under the rubble.
Italian media said that the five victims were an Italian man, three Moroccans and a Tunisian.
Three others were recovered from under the rubble and were taken to hospital in serious but not life-threatening condition.
Rescue workers continued the “complex” operation to reach the trapped workers today. Photo: Vigelli del Fuoco
After initial site assessments, officials said the accident occurred due to a “structural collapse” of the concrete beam, which may have been caused by a defect in the way it was manufactured.
Prosecutors in Florence ordered an investigation into the collapse.
Pope Francis was joined by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other Italian officials in expressing their grief over the workers' deaths, and on Saturday he called for “more efforts from those responsible to protect workers.”
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Marina Caprotti, president of the Iselunga department store chain, also sent her condolences. She said that the construction work for the new store was outsourced to a third party.
Unions announced a two-day strike in response to the deaths. Photo: AP
Accidents at work sites are fairly common in Italy, with 601 workplace deaths recorded across the country in 2021, the second highest number in the European Union after France, according to statistics agency Eurostat.
In response, Italy's two largest unions, Cgil and UIL, called a two-hour strike scheduled to begin on February 21, blaming the excessive use of subcontracting for cuts in wages, safety, training and working conditions on construction sites.
“We are tired of hearing words of comfort,” they said. “Work and safety must be at the center of political attention to implement concrete solutions, starting with the most vulnerable places such as construction sites.”
