Home Europe 3 Dead, 4 Missing After Fire, Explosion At Italy Hydel Power Plant

3 Dead, 4 Missing After Fire, Explosion At Italy Hydel Power Plant

MILAN: – At least three people have been killed and four are missing after a fire and explosion underground at a hydroelectric power plant in northern Italy on Tuesday, the local mayor said.

Italian utility group Enel confirmed that a fire had broken out on one of its transformers at its hydro power plant in Bargi, close to Bologna, in the early afternoon. The fire brigade said earlier that an explosion had occurred around 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) at a dam on Lake Suviana, one of three artificial lakes that feed the power station.

Marco Masinara, the mayor of the nearby town of Camugnano, said three dead bodies had been found and four people were missing, while three were “badly hurt” and taken to hospital. He added that the initial indication was that the incident was probably caused by a defect in a turbine.

Enel has not commented on the cause. The company said the dam basin had not been damaged and that the plant was offline at the time of the incident so there was no impact on electricity supply. Video supplied by firefighters showed thick smoke rising up from the plant.

The deaths are likely to fuel concerns expressed by trade unions about workplace safety in Italy. Two of the country’s largest unions were already due to hold a four-hour nationwide strike on Thursday to protest over the issue.


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In a high profile accident in February, five workers were killed and three seriously injured while building a supermarket in the city of Florence.

Enel said it had evacuated workers from the Bargi site and was coordinating with rescue workers from the fire department.

Masinara said flames erupted below ground level, adding that “the plant is all below the level of the lake, at about 30 metres’ depth”.

He told Italy’s Ansa news agency that initial information suggested that work was being done on a turbine at the time of the accident. “I have been told that the fire brigade are trying to get access but are having difficulties,” Masinara added.
(REUTERS)


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Ramananda Sengupta
In a career spanning over three decades and counting, I’ve been the Foreign Editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and The New Indian Express. I helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.My work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and The Asahi Shimbun. My one constant over all these years, however, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.On demand, I can rustle up a mean salad, my oil-less pepper chicken is to die for, and depending on the time of the day, all it takes to rock my soul is some beer and some jazz or good ole rhythm & blues.Talk to me about foreign and strategic affairs, media, South Asia, China, and of course India.