The number of dead workers after the precast concrete slab fell on them at a construction site in the Italian city of Florence increased to 5, and three seriously injured Romanians are in hospital, Reuters and ANSA report.

The workers died on Friday morning during the construction of a supermarket for the Esselunga chain. Italian media reported that the victims were an Italian, three Moroccans and a Tunisian.

Firefighters pulled out three survivors, who were taken to the hospital, and four bodies.

On Saturday, they were trying to pull out the last person trapped under the rubble in what they described as a “difficult” operation.

The president of the Tuscany region, which includes Florence, said rescuers believed the last missing person had died. “Now we can say five dead,” Eugenio Giani told a local radio station

Accidents at work are quite common in Italy: according to statistics agency Eurostat, the country recorded 601 deaths at work in 2021, the second highest rate in the European Union after France.

Unions Cgil and Uil announced a two-hour national strike on February 21, accusing the overuse of a subcontracting system that is driving down wages, safety, training and working conditions on construction sites.

“We are tired of hearing words of sympathy. Work and safety must be at the center of political attention to implement concrete solutions, starting from the places most at risk, such as construction sites,” they said, according to news.ro.

“The investigation is ongoing and I can’t say anything,” Mayor Dario Nardella said when asked by reporters about the alleged illegal employment of two workers who are among the victims.

The authorities announced Saturday mourning in the city of Florence – a moment of silence – and in the region of Tuscany.

Three Romanians are in hospital, their lives are not in danger

The team that worked at that place of the huge construction site consisted of eight workers. Three arrived in Caregi, and they are all Romanian workers.

Ansa reports that all three injured are from Romania, aged 37, 48 and 51 respectively.

Two of them are seriously injured, but their lives are not in danger, Ansa said.

“It’s a miracle,” Cristinel Spataru, one of the wounded Romanians, said on Friday, La Nazione reported. “I flew from the third floor, everything fell on me and I’m still here.”

In addition to CS, two more victims – 48-year-old CG and 37-year-old DT. The first has orthopedic problems, the other two also have spinal injuries, one of which required surgery, reports La Repubblica.