NOS News•today, 5:58 PM
Five men have died during sewer maintenance work on the Italian island of Sicily. The victims worked at a pump near a winemaker, in the municipality of Casteldaccia.
The men probably inhaled toxic fumes. A sixth victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries. According to the DPA news agency, the men were trapped and fainted from the fumes. A seventh worker was able to leave the scene and raised the alarm.
Poisoning with hydrogen sulfide is suspected. It is not yet known exactly how the accident could have happened.
Industrial accidents
Accidents in the workplace are common in Italy. Last month, an explosion at a hydroelectric power station killed seven people.
In February, five construction workers were killed when a wall collapsed at a supermarket construction site in Florence. In August 2023, five men died during maintenance work on the train tracks near Turin. They were run over by a train. Even more often there are individual deaths for which there is less media attention.
In the first two months of this year alone, 119 people died at work in Italy, according to the organization INAIL, which supports relatives.
