Worker and rescuer die in toxic fume incident at Sicily wastewater treatment plant
A 45-year-old worker and a 118 emergency responder died on the morning of 13 August at the municipal wastewater treatment plant in San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily, after toxic fumes filled the facility during a maintenance check.
The incident
On the morning of 13 August 2026, a worker died from toxic fumes at the municipal wastewater treatment plant in San Vito Lo Capo, in the province of Trapani, Sicily. The plant is located in the contrada "Tonnara del Secco." The worker, Davide Anselmo, aged 45, was employed by a private company contracted to manage the facility. He had descended into the plant to carry out a verification check when he collapsed. A colleague who was with him attempted to support him while waiting for firefighters to arrive and immediately called 118 for emergency assistance.
Firefighters arrived and brought Anselmo to the surface. Emergency medical personnel from 118 were on the scene. While one of the rescuers, Francesco Bulgarella, a Seus employee, was performing cardiac massage on Anselmo, Bulgarella himself collapsed. Efforts to revive him were also unsuccessful. Both men died at the scene within minutes of each other. A doctor from the guardia medica was also present at the location.
- Davide Anselmo, 45, descends into the San Vito Lo Capo treatment plant for a verification check
- Anselmo collapses inside the plant; his colleague calls 118 and tries to support him
- Firefighters arrive and bring Anselmo to the surface
- 118 operator Francesco Bulgarella collapses while performing cardiac massage on Anselmo
- Resuscitation efforts fail for both men; they die at the scene minutes apart
Conflicting accounts of the rescuer's death
Initial reports suggested that Bulgarella was overcome by the same toxic fumes that killed Anselmo while attempting resuscitation. La Stampa reported that the rescuer lost consciousness and died of asphyxia while performing resuscitation manoeuvres. However, Fabio Genco, head of 118 for Palermo and Trapani, offered a different account. He stated that the Seus employee never entered the plant's premises and that rescuers followed protocol by waiting for firefighters to extract the worker and bring him outside.
The Seus employee never entered the plant premises. The rescuers waited, as per protocol, for the arrival of the firefighters who retrieved the worker and brought him outside. Also in this case the autopsy will ascertain the cause of death, but at the moment I feel I can exclude that it was the fumes coming from the plant. As 118 we are close to the family of the rescuer and of the worker. I do not hide that for all of 118 this is a day of great pain.
High temperatures were recorded in the area at the time. Investigators have not yet determined whether Anselmo's death was caused by the fumes, by a medical event possibly related to the heat, or by a combination of factors. Autopsies are expected for both victims to establish the exact causes of death.
Investigation and prior history
Carabinieri and officials from Spresal, the workplace prevention and safety service of the Asp in Trapani, are conducting investigations at the site to determine the exact dynamics of the tragedy and verify compliance with safety regulations inside the plant. Firefighters also responded to secure the area.
The facility has a prior history with authorities. In June 2016, the Trapani prosecutor's office ordered the preventive seizure of the San Vito Lo Capo municipal treatment plant as part of an investigation into alleged marine water pollution. According to investigations by the coast guard (Capitaneria di porto), the plant, installed in 2010, had allegedly never been certified. The seizure order was issued within the framework of that pollution investigation.
