Melito, car swallowed by sinkhole: desperate owner writes to Borrelli

MElito – A sinkhole suddenly opened up on Via Magellano, in Melito di Napoli, swallowed up a parked Renault Twingo, turning a normal Tuesday afternoon, July 29, into a nightmare for the vehicle's owner.

The collapse of the road surface, likely caused by underground water seepage, narrowly averted a tragedy, but left the resident in a state of profound despair. Within 24 hours of the accident, the driver wrote to Green-Left Alliance MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli, asking for help: "My car is in need of scrap, it has suffered very serious damage. Everyone tells me the city won't pay any compensation. I'm desperate."

The testimony and the shocking images

The photos sent to Borrelli show the Twingo half-destroyed, sunk in the hole that opened beneath it. This image not only illustrates the owner's personal plight, but also the state of disrepair of the roads in Melito and many other towns in the Naples province.

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"Third World scenes," thunders Borrelli, who for years has been denouncing the deterioration of the road network and the inertia of local governments. "It's unacceptable for a citizen to park under their house and find their car swallowed up by the asphalt, only to be left to fend for themselves without any assistance."

A known, but ignored, problem

According to residents, the stretch of Via Magellano had already been the subject of temporary interventions by the Aqueducts, but the "stopgap" repairs did not resolve the underlying problem.

After the collapse, municipal technicians, the Civil Protection Department, and the Fire Department responded to the scene to secure the area and conduct inspections. This intervention, however, hasn't allayed residents' fears of further collapses. "Every day we receive reports of potholes, depressions, and subsidence," Borrelli reports. "This is yet another example of the abandonment of entire areas."

The call for responsibility

The MP doesn't mince his words and points the finger at the Municipality of Melito, demanding immediate accountability. "When the complaint comes from someone who has directly suffered harm, it should be listened to even more forcefully," he states.

"The Municipality must provide compensation to residents and implement a special road safety plan. We can't wait for the next tragedy to act." The story, which has gone viral online, has once again highlighted the precarious condition of local roads, a chronic problem that continues to jeopardize the safety of residents.

The Twingo owner's letter is a cry for help that embodies the plight of so many. Left without a car and facing the prospect of receiving no compensation, the man is faced with significant financial and psychological damage. His story is emblematic of a system that too often leaves citizens alone to face the consequences of administrative neglect.

The accident on Via Magellano is not just an isolated episode, but the symbol of a structural emergency that affects Melito Naples and many areas of the province. Borrelli's complaint and the car owner's desperation call the institutions to account: decisive action is needed to put an end to the deterioration of the roads and restore safety and dignity to residents. The next step is up to the City Council, which must respond with concrete measures to prevent yesterday's tragedy from becoming a prelude to a tragedy waiting to happen.