ROME: An explosion at an Italian hydroelectric power plant on Tuesday killed at least four people and left five missing, an official said.
Three people were also injured in the incident at the Bargi plant run by Enel Green Power located on Lake Suviana, the official from the Bologna prefecture in central Italy told AFP.
Fire service images showed smoke rising from the plant on the water’s edge where firefighters searched for the missing following the early afternoon blast.
The mayor of the nearby town of Camugnano, Marco Masinara, called the explosion a “terrible workplace accident” that affected the “entire community.”
“It seems there was a floor slab collapse and rescue is difficult as a lot of water entered inside the eighth basement floor,” he said.
No official cause has yet been determined.
Bologna fire department head, Calogero Turturici, told local television that at least one person was seriously injured.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on social media that she was “following with apprehension the terrible news regarding the explosion.”
Enel Green Power, the renewables unit of energy giant Enel that operates the plant, said it was coordinating with authorities.
In a statement to AFP, it said “a fire affected one of the two groups of the Bargi plant” in the province of Bologna.
“Following investigations, the dam basin of the Bargi plant was not damaged and is safe,” it said.
Production was halted, but there was no impact on local or national supply, it said.
“The company informs that it is continuing to operate in line with all the necessary safety measures as per internal procedures to guarantee the evacuation of its staff.”
Four dead, five missing in blast at Italy hydroelectric plant
https://arab.news/9z8uh
Four dead, five missing in blast at Italy hydroelectric plant
- Incident at Bargi plant run by Enel Green Power located on Lake Suviana in the Bologna Apennines
- PM Meloni said on social media that she was ‘following with apprehension the terrible news regarding the explosion’
Lithuania to declare ‘emergency situation’ over Belarus balloons: PM
- “We are currently preparing the legal basis and documents,” Ruginiene told reporters
- “We do not rule out going further,” Ruginiene added. Declaring a state of emergency is a possible stronger step
VILNIUS: Lithuania’s Prime Minister announced on Friday that the country will declare a national “emergency situation” over the influx of smuggler’s balloons launched from Belarus.
“We are currently preparing the legal basis and documents,” Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene told reporters, calling the emergency declaration “the best course of action at this time.”
The ‘emergency situation’ enables the government and local authorities to dedicate extra resources to combatting the balloons.
“We do not rule out going further,” Ruginiene added. Declaring a state of emergency is a possible stronger step.
As a result of balloon incursions, Lithuania’s two largest airports, in Vilnius and Kaunas, have on several occasions been forced to halt operations.
Lithuanian officials claim that the balloons, which fly up to 10 kilometers (six miles) high, are deliberately being launched into the airport’s flight paths, and constitute an attack on its civil aviation.
Though the balloons, which contain cigarettes, have long been used by smugglers, they have only in the last few months prompted airport closures.
The Baltic state, a member of NATO and the European Union, has long accused Belarus, a close ally of Putin’s Russia, of organizing “hybrid warfare.”
The activity, which amplified in October, caused Lithuania to close its two border crossings with Belarus at the end of the month.
Belarus then prevented Lithuanian trucks from driving on its roads and barred them from leaving the country without first paying a fee, which Vilnius decried as “being held hostage” by Belarus.
Thousands of Lithuanian lorries remain stuck in Belarus, with Minsk calling for consultations with the Lithuanian foreign ministry.
Lithuania has instead called for harsher sanctions on Belarus.
