A 5th worker confirmed dead in Italian construction site collapse as workplace safety sparks debate

Italian rescuers have confirmed the death of a fifth worker after a concrete beam and layers of slabs collapsed at a supermarket construction site in the city of Florence a day earlier

Italian rescuers confirmed Saturday the death of a fifth worker after a concrete beam and layers of slabs collapsed at a supermarket construction site in the city of Florence a day earlier.

"I’ve just been informed that rescuers are recovering the body of a fifth worker,” said Tuscany Region’s president, Eugenio Giani.

Earlier, firefighters spokesman Luca Cari told RaiNews TV channel that they recovered the body of the fourth worker. “The mass of rubble is enormous,” he said.

A group of workers were putting together on Friday prefabricated concrete structures for a new Esselunga supermarket northwest of Florence’s main train when, according to initial reports, a reinforced concrete beam toppled over a layer of slabs, which then collapsed, trapping eight men under the rubble.

Rescue teams successfully pulled out three of the eight who were taken to local hospitals, where they were reportedly in serious but not life-threatening condition.

According to preliminary assessments, the accident happened due to a “structural collapse” of the concrete beam, which may have been caused by a misplacement or defect in its composition, officials said.

Florence prosecutors have ordered an investigation into the collapse, taking into consideration charges of negligence and multiple manslaughter, but no suspects have been named at this stage.

Marina Caprotti, the president of Esselunga, the supermarket being built, issued condolences on Friday and promised to cooperate with the investigation. She said the construction was outsourced to a third party.

The collapse rattled an already frazzled country that has suffered in recent years a string of deadly worker-related accidents amid heated political debates over poor and risky working conditions.

Most recently, in August, five rail workers were killed after being hit by a high-speed train while doing maintenance work on the railway.

In 2021, the last year for which there is official data from the statistics agency Eurostat, Italy registered 601 workplace deaths. It was the second-highest figure in the European Union after France that year. Across the EU, 22.5% of all fatal workplace accidents took place within the construction sector.

During a visit to the region of Calabria, right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered Friday her condolences to the families of the victims. “This is another story of people who go out to work, who simply go out to do their job, and do not come back home,” she said.

In a statement, Italy’s largest unions harshly criticized the government for not addressing workplace safety issues, particularly subcontracting criteria, and announced national strikes in the coming weeks.

“In 2023 there were 1,000 deaths at work and often these accidents were the result of subcontracting,” said the leader of Italy’s largest union CGIL, Maurizio Landini. He criticized the system that allows big companies, after winning major bids, to subcontract smaller companies to do the work at lower prices.

Landini added that it was Meloni's cabinet "that amended the procurement code and reintroduced the subcontracting cascade.”

The ruling League party slammed Landini saying his linking workplace deaths to the government's reintroduction of subcontracting was “disgusting.”

"The secretary of the CGIL ignores that the new rules were requested by Europe, so much that Italy was at risk of infringement, and that they have nothing to do with this tragedy,” the party said in a statement.

Florence’s Mayor Dario Nardella has marked Saturday a day of mourning in the city.