BRINDISI - A 46-year-old worker from Latiano died last night following a workplace accident that occurred inside a sugar refinery in Brindisi. According to reports, the man was engaged on behalf of an external company in some maintenance activities on the plant when, for reasons under investigation, the conveyor belt reportedly severed his arm, causing severe bleeding.

 It was past 11:30 p.m. on Friday night, during the third night shift.The incident took place at the plant located on the road to Fiume Piccolo. The alarm was raised by the colleagues of the 46-year-old worker. Firefighters also intervened on the scene, recovering the body and transporting it to ground level.

 The Brindisi prosecutor's office has opened an investigation, and a precautionary seizure of conveyor belt 6, the equipment where the man died, has been ordered. The investigations are being conducted by the police.

 The man is believed to have died from blood loss despite rescue efforts. Based on initial information gathered by the firefighters who arrived immediately after the alarm, his arm remained trapped in the machinery he was using, causing the injury that led to intense bleeding. Despite the efforts of the emergency medical personnel who provided initial measures to stop the bleeding and urgently transported the injured man to Perrino Hospital, he died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

 Vincenzo Valente's father was also a victim of a workplace accident in 2015. Cosimo Valente was 65 years old when he died on February 11 nine years ago after falling from a tree during pruning work. The incident occurred in the countryside between Latiano and San Michele Salentino in the province of Brindisi.

 His son was known in the community for his kindness, helpfulness, and his passion for gardening: for many years, he had worked with his father before being employed as a worker at the Brindisi plant. Numerous calls are coming in these hours to Vittorio, his brother, and to his older sister Rossella. The mother, shocked by the news, has withdrawn into silence, reliving the same terrible moments of a few years ago when she lost her husband in another workplace accident.

 "Our first thoughts are with the victim's family, to whom we express our condolences and solidarity. However, alongside the anger and pain, we feel the responsibility to demand, as we have done and will continue to do, respect for people's lives. It is necessary for institutions and politics (in their entirety) to do more to find effective and immediate solutions, particularly regarding the sensitive issue of contracts."

 This was stated in a statement by the national secretary of Uila, Gabriele De Gasperis, following the death of the 46-year-old worker.

 "We must strengthen prevention and training, increase inspections," says the general secretary of Uila Puglia, Pietro Buongiorno, "and the number of labor inspectors and spread the culture of prevention, which often is not a priority."

 The 'Zero deaths at work' campaign promoted by Uil, concludes Buongiorno, "is not a symbol or a propaganda slogan, it is a daily commitment that we demand in all workplaces, aimed at stopping this massacre that continues to claim more victims every year."

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