Two dead as heat wave continues

(ANSA) - Rome, July 8 - Two people died on Wednesday as a ferocious heat wave continued to strike Italy, bringing temperatures of more than 40 degrees.
    A 77-year-old man died on a beach in Sardinia after collapsing on the sand due to the extreme heat.
    An ambulance crew rushed to the aid of Antonio Serra in Flumini di Quartu, Cagliari, but were unable to save him. Temperatures of more than 40 degrees in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, prompted dozens of emergency calls. In Verona, a Romanian man, 48, suffered a cardiac arrest while fishing in high temperatures.
    The man had been on the riverbank in Albaredo d'Adige with a friend when he began to feel ill. Police and a rescue helicopter were sent to the scene but he could not be saved.
    His death comes just days after another man died in Verona after working in fields during the heat of the day in Belfiore.
    The sweltering heat has also been felt in Piedmont, which reached 28.2 degrees on Monday, just one degree shy of a record 29.2 degrees on August 11, 2003. However, forecasters have predicted temperatures will cool slightly from Thursday.
    High temperatures in recent days have lead to a boom in electricity use owing to the huge demand for air conditioning. A new record for the number of megawatts consumed in a day was set on Tuesday, reaching 56,883MW. The previous peak of 56,822MW was reached on December 17, 2007.
    Meanwhile a blackout in Milan, caused by high electricity use, continued in parts of the city.
    Giuliano Pisapia, the city's mayor, apologised for the interruption to supplies and said the "situation was being solved".