Livorno teacher dies after third-floor balcony collapses while she hangs laundry

The collapse

On Friday 14 August, around 17:00, a 56-year-old woman died in Livorno after the balcony of her third-floor apartment partially collapsed beneath her. The incident occurred in via Bonomo, a side street of viale Marconi, in a residential palazzina dating from the 1960s-70s. Roberta Celli, a teacher married with two children, lived with her family on the third and top floor of the building. According to an initial reconstruction still under review by investigators, she had just returned from the sea and was on the balcony hanging laundry when the structure gave way suddenly and without warning. The flooring of the terrace reportedly collapsed, dragging her down with it. Celli, a Livorno native, fell approximately 10 metres to the ground after the partial failure of the terrace.

Emergency response

Neighbours who heard a loud boom at the moment of the collapse raised the alarm by calling 118. One resident who rushed downstairs described the sound as resembling a truck or large vehicle crashing into a wall, and said that on looking up he saw the balconies coming down. He added that everyone in the area was in shock. Rescuers from the Pubblica Assistenza di Ardenza, along with ambulances from the SVS of via San Giovanni, firefighters, and municipal police, arrived at the scene shortly after. Celli was found unconscious and transported in code red to the emergency department of Livorno hospital, where she was attended by medical staff. Her condition appeared desperate from the outset, and despite efforts to save her life, she died shortly after admission.

Structural damage and precautions

The collapsing portion of the terrace sent debris falling onto the terraces of the lower floors. The rubble damaged two balconies below, and in the collapse the terrace broke through the balcony immediately beneath Celli's before she reached the ground. Firefighters conducted initial checks and secured the area. As a precaution, pending verification of the entire structure's stability, they ordered the interdiction of three other balconies in the building that had not been directly affected by the collapse. Municipal police closed several streets in the immediate vicinity of the building to allow rescue operations and securing work to proceed without interference.

Investigation

The exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation by law enforcement, who arrived at the scene alongside 118 medical teams. Authorities have yet to determine what triggered the structural failure of the balcony flooring at the third and top floor of the building. The collapse was partial, affecting only a portion of the terrace, but the reasons for the cedimento remain unclear. Inspections will now need to establish the causes of the structural failure and verify the condition of the remaining balconies in the residential complex. The investigation will also seek to clarify the exact dynamics of the incident.