(Rome) The explosion that occurred Tuesday afternoon at a hydroelectric power station in central Italy left at least four dead and three injured, and five people are missing, said the Bologna prefecture.
“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 where the explosion occurred are partially flooded and filled with smoke and therefore immediately inaccessible, he added.
The previous report from the prefecture, given at the end of the afternoon, had reported three deaths and six missing.
Enel Green Power, the renewable energy production unit of the giant Enel which operates the plant, said it was coordinating with the authorities after the accident on the artificial water reservoir of Suviana, in the small town of Camugnano.
In a statement, the company said a fire had affected one of the two groups at the Bargi power plant. “After investigation, the Bargi plant dam basin was not damaged and is safe,” the company said.
Production was halted, but there was no impact on local or national supply, she argued.
Enel stressed that it continued “to operate applying all the necessary security measures, in accordance with internal procedures, to guarantee the evacuation of its personnel”.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on social media that she was “following the terrible news about the explosion with apprehension.”
“We are following developments in this matter with concern,” Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani also reacted to X.