(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 23 - Two people died and 13 were injured,
including seven children, in the collapse of a balcony of the
Vela Celeste (Sky Blue Sail) building in the district of Scampia
near Naples, authorities said on Tuesday.
The victims have been identified as Roberto Abbruzzo, aged 29,
and Margherita Della Ragione, 35.
Health officials at the Santobono hospital in Naples said two of
the children injured in the incident are in very serious
condition.
The two kids, aged seven and four, are critically ill due to
multiple head injuries.
They are being treated in the intensive care unit of the
Santobono.
Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said she was "pained" by the
incident, which took place overnight.
"In this hour of pain, my condolences go to the victims'
families together with a thought of closeness for the wounded
and their dear ones", the prime minister wrote on social media,
thanking firefighters for their "prompt" intervention and "those
who are cooperating in rescue operations".
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi announced a day of mourning on the
day of the victims' funeral
Meanwhile, prosecutors have opened an investigation into the
collapse.
Naples State attorneys are waiting for the first technical
results of inspections following the collapse, investigative
sources said.
The 800 residents - including 300 children - of the Vela
Celeste (Sky Blue Sail) building where the collapse took place
were evacuated and the civil protection set up tents to aid the
evacuees.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities said 66 apartments for some
300 residents would be reopened by the evening, following a
meeting at the prefecture of Naples.
Alternative solutions were found for the other 500 residents
while inspections were being carried out on their lodgings to
evaluate their safety, the officials said.
Earlier on Tuesday, dozens of evacuees occupied parts of the
Federico II University near their apartment building to demand
safe lodgings, said members of the 'Sails of Scampia' committee
which has been active in the district for years to demand better
housing conditions.
"We demand a fast solution to this emergency", they said.
The building where the collapse took place was one of the last
three 'Sails' left in Scampia and the only one set to remain.
The other 'Sails' apartment buildings have been torn down over
their state of decay in the crime-ridden district.
A 'restyling' of the area, which is trying to make a civic
comeback after years of being identified with the Camorra mafia
and drug pushing, has started and the municipal administration
announced in April renovation work on the 'Sky Blue Sail' to be
funded under the Piano Periferie (suburbs plan) with some 18
million euros.
Overall, the revamp of the area with the construction of 433
new lodgings and new public spaces including a park will be
funded with resources worth 159 million euros.
The project regarding the building affected by the collapse
focused on several areas as part of a plan to renovate the only
'Sail' that will be left in the neighborhood as a symbol of the
past.
The seven 'Sails' were originally built between 1962 and 1975
under a project by Franz Di Salvo aimed at creating common areas
and playgrounds to help residents socialize - spaces that were
never built, contributing to the failure of the plan as it was
originally conceived.
Over the years, the apartment buildings became a symbol of
decay, crime and drug trafficking
The 'Sails' were an iconic backdrop in the hit Camorra TV show
Gomorra (Gomorrah), based on Roberto Saviano's expose' of the
same name which earned the anti-mafia writer death threats that
forced him into a police protection program. (ANSA).
>>>ANSA/Two dead, 13 injured in Scampia building collapse
Two of seven injured children in critical condition
![(foto: ANSA)](/webimages/img_457x/2024/7/23/9712ae1f0a1dc08f353da8c1a03240b4.jpg)