- Title: 'I am alive by a miracle,' tearful witness recounts horrors of gas explosion
- Date: 13th December 2021
- Summary: RAVANUSA, ITALY (DECEMBER 13, 2021) (REUTERS) FIRE-FIGHTERS SEARCHING FOR MISSING PEOPLE AND REMOVING DEBRIS VARIOUS OF EXCAVATOR REMOVING DEBRIS VARIOUS OF RESIDENTS LOOKING AT EXPLOSION SITE NUN LOOKING AT EXPLOSION SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) RAVANUSA RESIDENTS, VANESSA CAVALLARO (RIGHT), PATRIZIA LO COCO (CENTRE) AND TANO VELLA (LEFT), SAYING: VELLA SAYING: "It was just terrible...I came out of the house and when I saw the stones falling on the ground...there was so much dust I couldn't breathe. I went into the house again because the stones were falling and I could have been killed..." CAVALLARO SAYING: "We drove under the rubble..." LO COCO SAYING: "We were passing by when we reached Via Trilussa and it looked like a bomb had exploded." CAVALLARO SAYING: "It looked as if a bomb had exploded inside the car, I didn't understand anymore. I got into the car thinking I was saving myself and I was shouting at her "Patrizia, Patrizia, get down!". (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) RAVANUSA RESIDENT, PATRIZIA LO COCO, SAYING: "We were lucky compared to the others and we can tell the story." Â LO COCO TALKING WITH MAN (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) RAVANUSA RESIDENT, VANESSA CAVALLARO, SAYING: "I have a disabled brother and my mother needs me a lot. God must have seen it and that's why he left me here, I'm alive by a miracle, it's thanks to God. Thank you, God, I'm just upset because I wish everyone was alive." DESTROYED CARS COVERED BY DEBRIS POLICEMEN STANDING IN STREET LEADING TO EXPLOSION SITE FIRE-FIGHTERS AT EXPLOSION SITE RESIDENTS STANDING IN FRONT OF RESTRICTED AREA FRIEND OF VICTIM, MARIA RALLO, STANDING IN FRONT OF RESTRICTED AREA AND SAYING (Italian) "We need thorough checks...they don't do thorough checks...they don't change the pipes..." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FRIEND OF VICTIM, MARIA RALLO, SAYING: "We are in danger." (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) FRIEND OF VICTIM, MARIA RALLO, SAYING: "There has been no maintenance for a hundred years. The pipes have never been changed, Sicily has been forgotten by European Union and by everyone. I hope they will do something because today we have all these victims, these 8 people (confirmed death toll is seven)...next time how many people will die? We don't know..." VARIOUS OF FIRE-FIGHTERS EXCAVATOR DRIVING AT EXPLOSION SITE
- Embargoed: 27th December 2021 14:33
- Keywords: Building collapse Italy Ravanusa Sicily fire brigade fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari gas explosion rescue teams rubble survivors
- Location: RAVANUSA, ITALY
- City: RAVANUSA, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001F7VFHAF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Survivors of the gas explosion in the Sicilian town of Ravanusa on Monday (December 13) said that time has stood still since the tragedy which cost the lives of seven people and left two people still missing.
Residents in the town say their home town now resembles a war zone and the thought of the explosion, which occurred on Saturday (December 11) evening and caused several houses to collapse, is something residents Vanessa Cavallaro, Patrizia Lo Coco, and Tano Vella will never forget.
Cavallaro and Lo Coco were walking back home, Vella was leaving his house, on a normal Saturday evening. Then the blast.
All they can remember is dust, falling debris, flames, and smoke.
"We were passing by when we reached Via Trilussa and it looked like a bomb had exploded," Lo Coco told Reuters.
Then, she decided to get in her car and shouted at her friend to do the same.
"It looked as if a bomb had exploded inside the car," she said before thanking God for sparing her life.
"I have a disabled brother and my mother needs me a lot," she said. "God must have seen it and that's why he left me here, I'm alive by a miracle, it's thanks to God."
Authorities said the deadly explosion was likely triggered by a gas leak, although an investigation was underway to ascertain the cause.
Gas grid operator Italgas expressed its sorrow and condolences to people in Ravanusa.
It said its emergency service had received no reports of gas leaks last week.
But these words did not convince Maria Rallo, a friend of one of the victims, a woman nine-months pregnant, and she shouted out her indignation at the lack of maintenance of the gas pipelines.
"The pipes have never been changed, Sicily has been forgotten by European Union and by everyone", she said. "I hope they will do something because today we have all these victims...next time how many people will die?"
Ravanusa is a town of about 11,000 people near the south-western Sicilian city of Agrigento, which is famous for its Greek temples.
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