at least four dead and five missing after explosion at hydroelectric plant

The accident occurred at a facility operated by energy giant Enel on the Suviana artificial water reservoir, near Bologna.

An explosion at a hydroelectric power station in central Italy left four dead and three injured on Tuesday April 9, while five other people were missing, the Bologna prefecture announced to AFP. The accident occurred in an establishment operated by the energy giant Enel on the artificial water reservoir of Suviana, located in the small town of Camugnano. The previous report from the prefecture, given at the end of the afternoon, had reported three deaths and six missing.

“It appears that there has been a collapse of the floor slab and rescue is difficult because a lot of water has penetrated inside the eighth floor of the basement,” said the mayor of the neighboring town of Camugnano, Marco Masinara. According to the head of the Bologna fire brigade, Calogero Turturici, interviewed by local television, it is not immediately possible to determine the causes of this accident. The premises in which the explosion occurred are partially flooded and filled with smoke, and are therefore immediately inaccessible, he added.

Energy production interrupted

Earlier today, the Italian group Enel Green Power, a subsidiary specializing in renewable energies of Enel, explained in a statement published by local media that“a fire broke out and affected a transformer at the hydroelectric power station”ensuring that “all security measures” were quickly activated in order to allow “proper evacuation of personnel” on the spot.

An Enel spokesperson later clarified that the dam was not damaged by the explosion. On the other hand, energy production was interrupted, without this having an impact on “electricity supply at local and national levels”. The President of the Italian Council, Giorgia Meloni, declared on social networks that she “followed with apprehension the terrible news about the explosion”.