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ACCIDENT

Two researchers killed in hybrid car prototype explosion in Italy

Two researchers have died after an experimental hybrid car exploded during a test run in Naples, southern Italy, the country's National Research Council said on Thursday.

Published: 29 June 2023 18:03 CEST
Italian highway patrol
Italian highway patrol officers man a road block. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

The Volkswagen Polo TDI exploded on the Naples ring road on Friday last week.

The fire brigade is investigating the contents of two gas cylinders on board the vehicle, which are believed to have caused the blast.

Trainee Fulvio Filace, 25, died on Wednesday night, the NRC said. He had been put in an induced coma after suffering third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body.

Researcher Maria Vittoria Prati, 66, a specialist in the study of emissions and the use of alternative fuels, died on Monday. She had been driving the car while Filace was in the passenger seat.

Naples public prosecutor’s office has opened a homicide and fire investigation, and has seized a prototype of the vehicle, according to Italy’s AGI news agency.

The NRC expressed “sorrow” and “dismay”, adding that it was launching an internal probe.

“The loss of two lives, all the more so in such dramatic circumstances, has a profound impact on the scientific community throughout Italy,” it said.

The car was being used as part of a European research project. It aimed to test an electric motor with batteries powered by solar panels on vehicles with internal combustion engines, according to AGI.

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WINE

Italy to overtake France as world’s largest wine producer

Italy is due to regain its spot as the world's largest wine producer in 2024 as France's vineyards are hit by unfavourable weather, according to figures from each country's agricultural authorities.

Published: 18 September 2024 16:24 CEST
Italy to overtake France as world's largest wine producer

After a disastrous 2023 harvest, Italy’s production will recover eight percent to between 41 million and 42 million hectolitres, the country’s main agricultural association Coldiretti said on Wednesday.

The French agriculture ministry had estimated earlier this month that French production will fall 18 percent to 39.3 million hectolitres.

Coldiretti noted that this year’s output in Italy still remains well under the average of recent years, as different parts of the country cope with either heavy rains or drought.

Since 2007, Italy has been the world’s top producer each year apart from 2011, 2014 and 2023, when it was pipped by France, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

Coldiretti said Italy is “divided in two” with the north hit by “intense rain and hail in spring and early summer”, while large parts of the south and Sicily have faced drought.

Heat and lack of rain led to particularly early harvests in some parts of the country.

In France, the steepest fall is expected in the eastern Jura mountain range where frosts and mildew are expected to result in a 71 percent drop in output.

In terms of volume, the biggest drop will be in the western Charente region where production will fall 35 percent.

Output is expected to fall by 30 percent in the Loire Valley and by a quarter in the Burgundy-Beaujolais area, which was hit by severe hail.

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