Heavy smoke

Bologna: 6 missing after explosion at power plant

The fire department had difficulties getting into the hydroelectric power station due to the heavy smoke.

(Bild: AFP)

Four workers have been killed in an explosion at a hydroelectric power plant on Lake Suviana in the Apennines near Bologna. Three people are missing and another five suffered serious burn injuries. Three workers were unharmed, according to the rescue units. The search by the Carabinieri and the fire department for the missing is underway, Italian media reported on Tuesday.

When the explosion occurred at around 3 p.m., work was underway on the turbines in the transformer rooms 30 meters below the water level. Fire then spread, reported Marco Masinara, mayor of Camugnano, the municipality in which the hydroelectric power plant is located. The part of the power plant where the explosion occurred was partially flooded and therefore inaccessible for the time being.

Due to the heavy smoke, the fire department had difficulties getting into the hydroelectric power plant operated by the energy company Eni. The building is currently under water. According to the emergency services, the causes of the explosion are still unclear. In any case, it had no impact on the dam wall of the Suviana reservoir, they said. Witnesses reported a loud bang and thick smoke rising from the power station and the lake.

(Bild: AFP)

Work on turbines
Electricity production was interrupted after the incident. However, this had no impact on the power supply on site or in the Italian power grid, Eni announced. The power plant staff were evacuated in accordance with safety regulations. The fire department was deployed with more than 40 helpers and several helicopters.

Located on the border between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, Lake Suviana, where the explosion occurred in the afternoon, is an artificial basin that was created in the 1920s for the use of electrical energy. The lake is located in a regional park in the Apennines at an altitude of just under 500 meters. It has become a tourist attraction that frequently draws people looking to escape the summer heat due to its relative proximity to the major cities of Bologna and Florence.

The Italian Minister for the Environment and Energy, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, is being kept informed of the rescue work. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured. President Sergio Mattarella expressed the hope that the causes of the accident would be fully clarified.