TARANTO – Angelo Fuggiano, a crane maintenance worker at the Ferplast metalwork contractor Ilva was killed on Thursday following an incident in the Ima ward at the Taranto port, union sources said. Trade unions made immediate calls for direct employees and contractors to go on strike, angrily proclaiming “that’s enough!”

 The 28-year-old died after a cable jumped, colliding with the worker as he was substituting parts of the DM6 unloading machine.

 Antonio Talò, secretary Uilm Taranto explained investigations are underway to assess how the freak accident occurred. “The worker was making a cable change to one of the cranes that unload the minerals used in the production of steel.”

 “According to the first reconstructions, the rope itself detached itself from the housing of the bridge wagon hitting it,” Mr Talò said, adding that “these are very heavy cables and … even if even if it is a glancing blow, the consequences are very serious.”

 Fellow operators fought to resuscitate their colleague, although efforts proved futile. Firefighters, Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza and Labour Inspectors arrived at the scene.

 In wake of the tragic incident, Taranto trade unions, Fim, Fiom, Uilm and Usb have announced the strike of the direct employees and contract workers from 11.00 on Thursday, continuing into Friday.

 Ilva expressed their “deep condolences and closeness to the family of Angelo Fuggiano and to all his loved ones” whilst the company has taken immediate action to investigate the tragic episode.

 “All the investigations are being carried out by the company in order to trace the causes of the event,” Ilva said.

 The incident comes as the second death at the Taranto port after Francesco Zaccaria was killed in 2012. The contractor was hit by a gust of wind whilst working on top of one of the plant’s cranes.

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