A 32-year-old Romanian woman and her
three young children dies in a fire in their flat in Bologna
Friday morning.
The woman, Stefania Alexandra Nistor, died on her way to
hospital while the two girls and a boy died in the flat of smoke
inhalation from a stove in the bedroom they all shared, police
said.
The elder girl was six and the younger one two, as was the boy,
her twin.
The elder girl was called Giorgia Alexandra Panaite, and the
twins Mattia Stefano and Giulia Maria.
The children's Romanian father, Alexandru Panaite, who was
separated from their mother, was at work when the tragedy
happened.
He fell ill with a bad turn after the tragedy and was taken to
the Maggiore hospital in Bologna for examination, where he was
said to be comfortable.
The man, separated from Nistor, had reached the flat in the
night, together with the grandparents of the children.
Deputy Bologna Police Superintendent Pierluigi Pinto said: "The
fire was most likely generated by an electrical system where a
heating appliance had been connected.
"The result was a short circuit and from the initial checks made
by the fire brigade it would appear to be entirely accidental".
When the fire brigade arrived at the flat on the fourth floor,
in a building of eight, in Via Bertocchi in Bologna, they found
a room saturated with smoke.
The intervention of the fire brigade, with the Fire
Investigation Unit, took place shortly before one o'clock and
was concluded around five o'clock.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore said "I express my profound grief
and condolences from the city for this terrible tragedy, which
cut off the lives of a young family."
A woman neighbour told reporters:
"Stefania was a very polite and kind girl, it was a beautiful
family.
"She was separated from her husband but they had a nice
relationship, the children were happy and content."
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said "I am deeply
grief-stricken by the passing of a woman and her three children
which happened because of a fire that occurred overnight in an
apartment in Bologna.
"I express to the family my sympathies and my condolences, and I
thank the operators of the fire department and the police forces
which intervened promptly at the location of the tragedy".
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