Three workers died on Friday morning after falling from a basket elevator at a construction site in Naples’ Vomero neighbourhood.
The accident occurred at 9:40 a.m. as the workers were reroofing a six-storey building on Via San Giacomo dei Capri. They were using a basket lift attached to two vertical columns. According to initial reports, the platform collapsed from a height of around twenty metres.
Emergency services (118), State Police and first responders arrived quickly, but all three men, Italian nationals in their fifties, were declared dead at the scene.
Early investigations suggest the collapse may have been caused by a structural failure of the upper section of one of the columns supporting the lift. The basket was reportedly carrying the three workers and a heavy roll of bitumen at the time.
Naples prosecutors Antonio Ricci and Stella Castaldo visited the site. They are now assessing whether the elevator system was properly rated for the load it was carrying. Investigators from the “Work and Professional Negligence” division have requested technical specifications and documentation. No individuals have been named as suspects so far.
Condolences and condemnation
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi expressed his condolences. “It’s a day of sorrow. We cannot and must not give up. We need more safety, more controls, and more training,” he said, pledging full cooperation from city authorities.
Cardinal of Naples Monsignor Domenico Battaglia also condemned the incident. “It is unacceptable to die not ‘at’ work, but ‘of’ work. These are not accidents, they are injustices,” he said.
Filca-CISL, the construction workers’ union, said it would support the victims’ families and join any civil action related to the case. “Three families will never see their loved ones return home. As always, Filca will stand with them,” union leaders Ottavio De Luca and Massimo Sannino said.
The tragedy in Naples follows another fatal incident in Bagnolo Mella, near Brescia, where a 69-year-old man was crushed to death by a forklift at a separate construction site.
