Another serious workplace accident occurred today in Abruzzo. An explosion occurred at the Sabino Esplodenti plant in Casalbordino.
The accident, the causes of which are still being investigated, caused the death of three workers while others were injured. In December 2020, in another accident at the same company in Contrada Termini, three workers lost their lives. The factory disposes of and recovers gunpowder from reclamation.
The explosion was felt by the population living in the area where the 'Sabino Esplodenti' plant in Casalbordino is located, specializing in the disposal and recovery of gunpowder from land reclamation.
Factory not new to workplace tragedies. Already in 2020, three workers lost their lives in the same company. The Prefect of Chieti is arriving on site, interdicted by the police and firefighters.
Sabino Esplodenti 3 dead as in 2020
“Esplodenti Sabino spa”, the world leader – as stated on the website – in the recovery of materials from military munitions, demilitarization activities, remediation of contaminated sites, disposal of products containing explosives (airbags, seat belts, signal flares), is once again at the center of the crime news.
Three workers died and others were injured this morning in an explosion at the Casalbordino plant for reasons that have yet to be ascertained. And on December 21, 2020, three other workers from the same company lost their lives while they were employed in the room that housed the static oven, a plant used for burning launch powders, lighting devices, smoke bombs and explosives.
For this latest incident, the Vasto prosecutor's office, which had investigated for aggravated multiple manslaughter and manslaughter causing disaster, charged the company's top management with violating a series of regulations for the prevention of accidents at work.
“Our history – as explained on the Esplodenti Sabino spa website, which has always belonged to a single family – begins about a hundred years ago with the production of fireworks, followed later by black powder, powder cartridges and other military fireworks.
The activities that still represent the core business today began in 1978 in the civil and military sector with the unloading and maintenance of conventional and non-conventional ammunition and “cluster bomb” weapon systems. At the same time, the company deals with the reformulation and production of explosives for civil and industrial use, disposal of air-bags and seat belts for the automotive sector and signal rockets for the maritime sector.
Preliminary hearing for 2020 accident tomorrow
The preliminary hearing for the explosion that cost the lives of three other workers in the same factory on December 21, 2020, is scheduled for tomorrow before the preliminary hearing judge of the Vasto Court.
Ten defendants, including the company: the main charge, for all, is culpable cooperation in manslaughter, for general fault caused by negligence, imprudence and incompetence, and for specific fault, consisting in the violation of various accident prevention regulations.
In particular, the defendants are the legal representative and chairman of the board of directors of Esplodenti Sabino spa, four board members, the director of the plant, the head of the protection and prevention service, the workers' representative for safety, the department head, the company in the person of the legal representative, a company that is subject to criminal proceedings for administrative liability for multiple manslaughter.
In 2020, the incident occurred in the early afternoon, during the disposal of various materials, in particular incendiary mixture, pyrotechnic powder, black powder, signal flares, wood impregnated with TNT, nautical equipment, kanonslag-type impact simulators, in the static oven room, where the three workers had been assigned, who died instantly due to the explosion.
Placed under seizure, the factory remained closed for seven months, also due to the firm position of the prosecutor's office led by Giampiero Di Flioro on safety conditions at work. In July 2021, having obtained the release from seizure with the green light from the judge, activities had resumed. Today the new tragedy.
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