Indian worker dies after roadside accident on Italian farm

He was cutting hay when a machine cut off his arm. (Symbolic image)

Rome:

An Indian farm labourer working in Italy died on Wednesday after being left on the side of the road following an accident in which he severed his arm, a minister said, condemning it as an “act of barbarism”.

Satnam Singh was injured on Monday while working on a farm in Latina, a rural area south of Rome that is home to tens of thousands of Indian migrant workers.

“The Indian farm worker who had a serious accident in the countryside in Latina and was left in very serious conditions … has died,” Labor Minister Marina Calderone told parliament.

“It was a true act of barbarism,” she said, adding that authorities were investigating and expressing hope that those responsible would be punished.

Singh, who was 30 or 31 years old and working without valid papers, was cutting hay when a machine severed his arm, according to the Flai CGIL union.

“Instead of his employers helping him, he was dumped like a garbage bag near his house,” it said, and the situation was compared to a “horror film.”

Police said they were called by Singh’s wife and friends and a rescue helicopter was sent.

“He was flown to a hospital in Rome but died around midday (today),” a police spokesman in Latina told AFP.

The centre-left Democratic Party condemned the man’s treatment as a “defeat for civilisation” in an area known for worker exploitation.

“The fight against gang bosses and for dignified and humane living and working conditions must continue to be our priority,” it said on X.

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