Five people have died in an Italian labor tragedy in Sicily

Five workers were killed in an accident at a sewage treatment plant near the southern Italian city of Palermo on the island of Sicily.

Another worker was found unconscious and taken to hospital.

The deaths are the latest in a series of workplace fatalities across Italy that have sparked anger among workers and unions.

The workers were found unconscious and not wearing masks, raising concerns about safety protocols at the Casteldaccia facility.

They reportedly succumbed to poison gas poisoning, with one member of the team narrowly escaping the deadly fumes and raising the alarm.

“I heard her screaming, but I couldn’t do anything to save her,” Giovanni D’Aleo told the Italian daily La Repubblica. “It’s a miracle I’m alive.”

The men had been working in a 5 square meter underground tank, accessed via a hatch at street level.

At the time of the accident, the concentration of toxic gases was ten times higher than the danger limit.

When firefighters arrived at the Casteldaccia plant, southeast of Palermo, there were seven workers at the facility. They recovered the bodies of the five dead workers and rescued another in a serious condition. The other man was found unharmed.

There was no official statement from AMAP, the regional group responsible for wastewater treatment in the region.

The accident came just weeks after an explosion at a hydroelectric power plant near the northern Italian city of Bologna that killed seven workers during maintenance work.

“This tragedy must be fully explained,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X.

“I hope that complete clarity will be provided about the dynamics of the incident,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella said during an official visit to the United States.

“This unacceptable workplace tragedy must urgently reaffirm the need for a common commitment from all social forces, entrepreneurs and institutions.”