Florence paused on Saturday to mourn
the victims of Friday's
structural collapse at a supermarket building site that has left
four construction workers confirmed dead and a fifth still
missing feared dead and three more people injured.
Mayor Dario Nardella led a minute's silence at 3 pm in Piazza
della Signoria together with Tuscany Governor Eugenio Giani,
political and trade union representatives, and the archbishop of
Florence, Cardinal Giuseppe Betori.
"It is a tragedy that has struck us deeply," said Nardella,
thanking "all the volunteers, the fire brigade, civil protection
and the institutions involved" for their contribution to the
rescue and recovery efforts.
The four people confirmed to have died after a concrete beam on
the fourth floor of the Esselunga supermarket under construction
in Via Mariti gave way causing the structure to collapse are
Luigi Coclite, 60, from Italy, Mohamed Toukabri, 54, from
Tunisia and Mohamed El Ferhane, 24, and Taoufik Haidar, 45, both
from Morocco.
Their bodies have all been recovered.
On Saturday afternoon rescuers were still trying to find the one
remaining missing worker, Bouzekri Rachimi aged 56 from Morocco.
The three injured workers are all Romanian and aged 37, 48 and
51.
Their condition is not said to be life-threatening.
"Now, more than ever, we gather around the families of the
workers who lost their lives on the Via Mariti construction
site, and we commit ourselves to be more united and stronger
than ever so that there will be no more victims in the
workplace," he added.
Local buses and trams were also decked out in mourning on
Saturday and the tramway system stopped for a minute to coincide
with the silence at 3 pm.
Earlier in the day shops closed for 15 minutes at midday and
employees stood outside to pay their respects.
In a statement contractor Attività Edilizie Pavesi (AEP) told
ANSA it is "overwhelmed with shock and grief".
"It is a terrible tragedy, we are overwhelmed with shock and
grief," said the management.
"This is a time of silence and grief," the statement continued,
adding that the company is "at the complete disposal of the
authorities to ensure all the conditions are in place to shed
light on this dramatic incident".
Prosecutors have opened a probe into multiple manslaughter, for
now without suspects, and investigations are also being carried
out into claims that two of the foreign victims were irregular
workers.
Pope Francis also expressed his grief at the latest in a long
spate of workplace deaths in Italy and renewed calls for labour
safety to be stepped up.
In a telegram sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin
to Betori, the pope expressed "feelings of closeness and
condolences to the families of the victims, together with his
deepest participation in the grief of the entire city".
"In this particularly dramatic moment, Pope Francis wishes to
renew his appeal for safety in the workplace, hoping for a
greater commitment on the part of those responsible for
protecting workers," the telegram continued.
In the message, the pope also thanked the rescue workers and
sent his apostolic blessing to all as a sign of spiritual
closeness".
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Marina Calderone on Saturday
announced a new package of measures on labour safety including
new rules on undeclared labour and measures to protect safety in
the contracting supply chain.
"There is to be no step backwards on labour safety," said
Calderone in a statement, adding that the government will "move
forward with implementation of what has already been adopted
since it took office".
"But more will be done," she added.
"This is the time to mourn the workers who have lost their
lives, to be close to their families and to establish the
facts," she concluded.
And sources in the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD)
said party secretary Elly Schlein is ready to put aside
political wrangling and work together with the government on the
issue of workplace safety, as it has in the past on gender-based
violence.
Schlein is "very determined to bring the issue" of safety at
work "to the attention of the government, which has the tools to
deal with it", the sources said.
"Condolences are no longer enough: urgent and effective measures
are needed," they continued, adding that workplace safety "is
one of the issues on which we must not act with prejudice".
Rather, it is necessary to talk to the government in order to
"face this emergency together", they concluded.
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