The judicial investigation will clarify the causes of death of Raffaele Magri, the 58 year old worker originally from Caivano who died yesterday afternoon in Herculaneum while he was busy emptying a cesspit inside a hospitality facility on Via Benedetto Cozzolino.
According to initial investigations, the man entered the septic tank without adequate protective equipment. This fact also emerges from the images recorded by the video surveillance cameras, already acquired by the Carabinieri of the Herculaneum and now under investigation by investigators.
The Prosecutor's Office has ordered the seizure of the body and an autopsy. Subsequently, notices of investigation will be served on the owners of the company responsible for the sewer cleaning and the accommodation facility, a necessary technical step to allow their respective consultants to participate in the unique investigations.
The suspicion of toxic gases
The most likely hypothesis at the moment is that the 58-year-old was struck by an illness caused by inhaling toxic gases present inside the septic tank.
The footage captured by the cameras appears to show the worker arriving aboard a tanker with a colleague, performing the preliminary operations, and finally descending into the well. Moments later, the tragedy occurred.
Recovering the body required the intervention of specialists from the Naples Fire Department's diving unit and SAF personnel (the Alpine and Fluvial Speleological Unit). The operators had to use watertight suits, breathing apparatus, and specific protective equipment to work in an environment filled with potentially lethal fumes.
Checks on hiring and safety standards
In parallel with the investigation into the worker's death, investigations into his employment status have begun. The Carabinieri are verifying whether Magri was legally employed and whether the company had the required permits to carry out work in high-risk confined spaces.
Particular attention will also be paid to compliance with safety procedures and the availability of mandatory personal protective equipment for operations of this type.
Investigators also collected statements from the colleague who accompanied the victim and who was on the truck during the cleanup operations. His testimony will be crucial in reconstructing the final minutes before the victim's death.
Pain in Caivano and Ercolano
The death of Raffaele Magri has shocked both the community of Caivano, where he lived with his wife and son, and that of HerculaneumThe family members were notified by the Carabinieri and reached the scene of the accident when the area had already been sealed off.
There were also moments of great tension among the guests of the facility, where a ceremony was underway at the time of the tragedy.
Ercolano's new mayor, Antonietta Garzia, expressed the city's condolences: "People are still dying at work, and they're dying too much. This cycle must be broken with safety, controls, and responsibility. Those who work have the right to go home at night."
Deepening
Safety at work?
Just empty words.
In Ercolano a worker dies during a drain cleaning without protection, while the cameras
confirm the absence of essential devices.
Now the judiciary is investigating, but how many more lives must still be put at risk?
before seeing concrete responsibilities?
Cronache della Campania is keeping its guard up: this isn't just a tragedy, it's an alarm that concerns everyone.
It seems to me to be a sad and complex story. I hope the investigation will shed light on the matter and that controls will be strengthened. It is not clear how he descended without protection. The company and the structure should have monitored, the family deserves answers, but we must wait for the technical findings and determine who is responsible.