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Moments of fear last night, around 8.30pm in Mileto, in the province of Vibo Valentia. A gas cylinder exploded inside the B&B “Villa Mary”. Three people were injured (two adults and a child) who were initially transferred to the Jazzolino hospital in Vibo by a 118 ambulance and subsequently transferred between Bari and Catania. At the moment the most serious situation is that of the 10-year-old girl, although all three have a guarded prognosis and have burns on over 30% of their bodies. Other guests, to save themselves from the spreading flames, jumped into the swimming pool of the accommodation facility.
The injured all belong to the same family unit, of Slovenian origin: father, mother and little girl. These are tourists who were on holiday in the area. Part of the building collapsed, making the action of the rescuers more difficult.
The fire, put out by the fire brigade teams, caused damage to the attic of the rooms involved, with the collapse of the pots and the collapse of a plasterboard wall. Two teams from the Vibo Valentia headquarters, a team from the Ricadi Detachment and the service officer with the support of a tanker intervened for the rescue and safety operations. Technical investigations aimed at determining the causes of the explosion are underway.
A complex rescue machine was set in motion immediately after the explosion. 118 had sent three ambulances to the scene, which provided initial treatment to the injured and subsequently transported them from the Vibo Valentia emergency room to the Lamezia Terme airport. Here three different flights had been arranged to allow the transfer to specialized centers. The operations were coordinated by the director of the Vibo Valentia emergency room, Enzo Natale. The vice prefect Antonio Crisafulli was also involved in organizing one of the transfers, who activated the Ministry of Defense by obtaining the availability of an Air Force aircraft. The other two flights were made available respectively by the 118 of Calabria and the 118 of Sicily. The explosion occurred in the accommodation occupied by the Slovenian family, who, according to an initial reconstruction, were preparing to have dinner. Investigations will now establish the origin of the explosion. After the explosion a fire broke out, which was immediately put out by the firefighters.
The investigations are coordinated by the Vibo Valentia Public Prosecutor’s Office, which instructed the Carabinieri and Fire Brigade to reconstruct the dynamics of the event and ascertain the causes of the explosion. The entire accommodation facility was seized to allow investigators to carry out technical checks without altering the state of the premises. Particular attention will be paid to the gas cylinder, the system and the safety conditions of the accommodation. In the meantime, maximum attention remains on the conditions of the little girl and her parents, all hospitalized in three different specialized centers and with a guarded prognosis.