Worker, 67, Electrocuted in Lecce

Lecce: A 67-year-old worker was electrocuted in Lecce Wednesday while working on a construction site in a rural area as Italy’s long spate of fatal workplace accidents continued.

According to Ansa News Agency, work was underway to build a dry stone wall when, for reasons currently under investigation, the arm of a concrete pump struck high voltage lines, and the electric current struck the man. The victim was born in Albania but had been living in Lecce for some time. All attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Firefighters, police, and Spesal staff were on the scene. The Lecce prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation. Workplace deaths are a major problem in Italy and Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government has said boosting health and safety is a priority. On Tuesday, the cabinet launched a digital badge for contractors and sub-contractors on construction sites, aimed at improving safety.

Work-related deaths in Italy rose by one last year to 1,202, workplace accident and occupation illness insurance agency INAIL said in its annual report in July. Trade unions say three workers a day die in workplace accidents in Italy.