Union workers in Italy demand safety as death toll from hydroelectric plant disaster rises to 5

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Hundreds of trade union workers on Thursday called for action on health and safety after the death toll from this week’s hydroelectric power plant disaster rose to five.

Some 1,500 people took to the streets in Bologna, the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region, in a march led by the Italian Labor Union (UIL) and Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), according to the state-run ANSA news agency.

On Tuesday, an explosion occurred underwater at Enel Green Power's Bargi hydroelectric plant on Lake Suviana, leaving three people dead and four others missing.

Rescuers recovered two more bodies from the site while the remaining two are also feared dead.

The union workers on Thursday marched with a banner, reading "Enough Now," to protest the disaster, which is the latest in a long series of deadly workplace accidents in the country.

The unions' members are also striking for eight hours in Emilia-Romagna on Thursday, according to ANSA.

After the deadly incident, Bologna Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said that a probe would look into "procurement and subcontracting," an issue the unions say is a major factor.

"These are sub-contract deaths," said Bologna CGIL Secretary Michele Bulgarelli.