Italian union leader struck by truck and killed

A UNION leader was killed in northern Italy when a truck apparently broke through a picket line outside a supermarket warehouse and struck him.

The Italian premier, Mario Draghi, expressed sorrow for the death of Adil Belakhdim, 37, and said “it’s necessary that light is immediately shed on what happened”.

According to Italian news reports and union officials, about 20 people who work in logistics for the supermarket chain Lidl were protesting outside the warehouse on Friday when a truck driver trying to leave the facility drove through a line of picketers blocking a gate.

An unidentified witness told Italian state TV the vehicle struck Belakhdim and dragged him for several yards.

Italian media said the driver sped away from the scene in the municipality of Biandrate.

While initial reports said the driver was stopped by police on a nearby highway, the LaPresse news agency later said that the driver stopped at a tollbooth on the highway and called Carabinieri paramilitary police.