Farmstead explodes, three dead firefighters Flags at mid-mast also in Bergamo

Three firefighters died in Quargneto, in the province of Alessandria, following the collapse of a farmhouse that occurred while fire extinguishing operations were in progress. The incident, as reported by Ansa, occurred shortly after midnight on Tuesday 5 November. Two other firefighters and a carabiniere were also injured and transported to the hospital in Alessandria and Asti in red code. Colleagues have been digging all night in search of the missing third fireman and found him buried in the rubble this morning. Here are the names of the deceased firemen: Matteo Gastaldo, the last to be extracted, 46, Marco Triches 38 and Antonio Candido 32 years. The first two are originally from Alessandria, the third in Reggio Calabria.

The Provincial Fire Brigade Command observed a minute of silence and put the flags at half-mast as a sign of mourning for the colleagues who died in the Alessandria area.

#Explosion #Quargnento (AL): unfortunately the lifeless body of the firefighter dispersed under the collapsed building was identified. Three colleagues died and two were injured. A carabiniere was also injured # 5novembre 8:15 pic.twitter.com/DwqOfANTIU

– Fire Brigade (@emergenzavvf) November 5, 2019

The explosion, according to what was reconstructed by the Carabinieri and reported by Ansa, would have occurred in an uninhabited portion of a building, so no other people would have been involved besides the rescuers. Firefighters are still at work in the rubble in search of any other missing persons.

#Explosion #Quargnento (AL): the search for the missing firefighter continues.# 5novembre 7:45 pic.twitter.com/nkfxcEpkvO

– Fire Brigade (@emergenzavvf) November 5, 2019

The dynamics of the explosion is not entirely clear. According to a first reconstruction, the Fire Brigade had intervened after an explosion probably due to a gas leak, which had caused part of the building to collapse. While the rescuers were at work, however, a second explosion occurred which hit them. On the contrary, according to investigative sources, the firefighters would have intervened for a fire and once they arrived at the farm they would have been overwhelmed by a single explosion.

According to the hypothesis cited by sources of the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri and reported by Ansa, the origin of the explosion that caused the death of two firefighters could be malicious. Quargneto is a town of just over a thousand inhabitants in the plain of Alessandria, on the border with the Monferrato hills. An agricultural area where there are numerous farmhouses.

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