Death toll rises to seven following Bargi hydropower plant incident, Enel Green Power issues statement
12 April 2024
Seven workers have been confirmed dead following the explosion at Enel Green Power’s hydroelectric power plant in Bargi, near Bologna, Italy. Rescuers recovered the bodies of missing workers in the project’s turbine hall this morning, Reuters said.
In a statement on its website, Enel Green Power said it once again “expresses its deepest condolences and closeness to all the victims and their families”. The company said it will continue to fully collaborate with the relevant authorities to ascertain the facts of what caused the fatal accident on 9 April 2024. It said its CEO, Salvatore Bernabei, immediately went to the site following the incident to personally coordinate company activities in conjunction with the competent authorities.
At the time of the incident, Enel Green Power said efficiency works were underway. It is believed that the testing of the first generation group had already been completed and testing of the second group was underway when the incident occurred.
“Enel Green Power will remain close in every possible way to those injured as well as to the families of the victims,” the company said in a statement. “The company expresses its gratitude to the relevant authorities that are working tirelessly on rescue operations, to whom it is providing maximum support.”
Enel confirmed that a fire erupted in one of the transformers at the plant on 9 April. According to the fire brigade, the explosion occurred at 3pm local time at a dam on Lake Suviana, which serves as the power station's water source.
The company said that it has stablished an immediate fund of €2 million to allow the people impacted and their families to meet near-term, urgent needs. It said that from the start of the incident, it has worked to provide assistance to the people impacted and their families by sending a team of psychologists to the site and to the hospitals where the injured are being treated, making hotel rooms available and offering logistical support.
