Tragedy in Italy: mother and son found dead in garage, suspected of carbon dioxide poisoning

A 37-year-old woman and her 21-year-old son were found dead inside the garage of their home in the town of Partiniko, in the province of Palermo. Investigators’ initial suspicions indicate that the deaths may have been caused by gases that accumulated in two underground tanks.

The victims were identified as Rosalia La Manna and her son, Vincenzo Troia. According to the initial reconstruction of events, the 21-year-old had gone down into one of the tanks on Friday morning to retrieve the nets used to collect olives. The family had stored them there for about a year.

When she saw that her son was not returning, Rosalia is believed to have gone down to look for him, but she became trapped in the gas-filled space. Their bodies were later discovered in the garage by other people.

Experts believe that the decomposition of organic materials inside the tanks had produced lethal amounts of carbon dioxide. When they arrived at the scene, firefighters found that the oxygen needed to breathe was absent inside.

Emergency responders faced a high risk because of the gas concentration, so the firefighters’ specialized NBCR unit entered the area equipped with oxygen cylinders. The Carabinieri have launched an investigation to clarify the full circumstances of the tragedy and to verify whether the tanks and the conditions in which the agricultural materials were stored met safety standards.