Four killed in explosion at Italian hydroelectric plant

AN EXPLOSION at an Italian hydroelectric power plant yesterday 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 said.

Fire service images showed smoke rising from the plant on the water’s edge where firefighters searched for the missing following the blast, which occurred in the early afternoon.

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 for the incident has yet been determined.

Calogero Turturici, the head of the Bologna fire department, told local television outlets that at least one person was seriously injured.

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, 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 the authorities.

In a statement, it said that “a fire affected one of the two groups of the Bargi plant” in the province of Bologna.

The company added that “following investigations, the dam basin of the Bargi plant was not damaged and is safe”.

Production was halted, but there was no impact on local or national supply, it said, adding: “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.”