After a very long suffering, Giovanni Zecchini, the  boy from Mira – in the province of Venice – who in 2012 fell from the roof of a swimming pool undergoing renovation in the Valmarana area, has died.

After eleven years of suffering, Giovanni Zecchini, the boy from Mira – in the province of Venice – who in 2012 fell from the roof of a swimming pool undergoing renovation in the Valmarana area, has died. The basin below was empty, due to work in progress: Giovanni fell about ten meters, causing himself very serious injuries.

The young man, who was only 13 years old at the time of the terrible accident, had since then remained quadriplegic, with serious brain injuries, and for some time had required constant assistance with special care in dedicated facilities. The accident occurred on the evening of 19 July 2012, when a group of children, attracted by the shouts of some peers, reached the skylights of the top floor of the Mira municipal swimming pool in the Valmarana sports centre, which at that time was closed for renovation and half empty. The skylight could not support the weight of the thirteen-year-old, who fell into the void. His friends and parents immediately called for help but the injuries he suffered left him completely disabled.

An investigation was opened into the matter and a trial was held. Both the then mayor Alvise Maniero, elected just a few weeks earlier, and six other people ended up in the dock, including the manager of the municipal swimming pool, the technical director of the Municipality of Mira but also other officials in addition to those responsible for the safety of the construction site and the companies that were carrying out the work inside the sports facility. In fact, the Prosecutor’s hypothesis was that adequate safety measures had not been put in place on the construction site necessary to prevent access to the structure. All the defendants were accused of serious and negligent injury. The trial lasted 10 years and ended last January with the acquittal of the defendants.