By Silvia Ognibene
FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) -The death toll from an explosion at an Eni fuel depot near Florence rose to five as the body of the last missing person was recovered, Italian investigative sources said on Tuesday.
Monday’s blast in Calenzano, on the northern outskirts of the Tuscan regional capital, occurred in a loading area for tank trucks. Authorities said the incident would have had far worse consequences had nearby fuel depots of the energy company also caught fire.
Two other bodies were recovered earlier on Tuesday, adding to the two people reported dead shortly after the accident. All five victims were working for external firms and not for Eni.
Several people were injured, with three still hospitalised in serious conditions.
“Eni wishes to express once again its sympathy to the families of the deceased and to those injured or otherwise involved,” the state-controlled company said in a statement.
The tragedy brought back into focus the issue of workplace safety in Italy, where last year nearly 600,000 workers reported injuries to state agency INAIL and 1,147 lost their lives.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Prato have opened an investigation to determine criminal responsibility for the Eni blast.
The group said it was cooperating closely with the judicial authorities to identify the real causes of the explosion, adding it was premature to speculate about what they were.
Eni, one of Italy’s largest energy companies, has offered to reimburse people and businesses who suffered material damage as a result of the explosion, the Calenzano municipality said.
Speaking near the site of the accident, the mayor of Calenzano suggested relocating the fuel depot, which is inside the town close to the railway tracks, and some 300 metres from the major A1 highway.
“No diktat … We realise it is not an easy thing. But I believe that in this context and in these terms it should be reconsidered,” Giuseppe Carovani said, mentioning the possibility of even closing the depot facility.
(Additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, Francesca Landini in Milan and Alvise Armellini in Rome; editing by Mark Heinrich)
