Accident Drilling rig falls into Lake Lugano and pollutes lake water
A drilling rig that fell into the water in Lake Lugano due to wind and waves has polluted the lake water. Following the recovery of the rig on Thursday night, the public prosecutor's office in Ticino is now investigating who is responsible for the accident.
09.01.2025, 17:48
09.01.2025, 17:49
SDA
The accident occurred north of the Melide dam in mid-September, as the Ticino cantonal police reported on Thursday.
According to the information available so far, strong gusts of wind had shifted material on a working raft on September 14 and caused it to fall into the water, including the drilling rig in question. Some of the hydrocarbons contained in the equipment escaped and caused water pollution, as the police stated in a press release.
The authorities have not yet been able to say the extent of the water pollution. Analyses are underway, a representative of the public prosecutor's office in Ticino told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Immediately after the accident, cantonal police officers and the Melide and Lugano fire departments installed special floating barriers to contain and neutralize the pollutant leak.
The recovery work on Thursday night took several hours, the press release continues. Parts of the work were carried out directly from the A2 highway, using the already planned night closures for other work. In addition to officers from the cantonal police, the Lugano fire department, technicians from the Federal Roads Office (Astra) and specialists from private companies were also involved.
