Porto Sant’Elpidio (Fermo), June 7, 2026 – The flowers placed in front of the gate of the collapsed house are the most evident symbol of a community marked by pain. The day after the tragedy in via Trentino, where yesterday at dawn Giuseppe Pieroni, 48, Ettorina Paccapelo, 89, and her son Romano Cerquetti, 60, lost their lives, Porto Sant’Elpidio woke up to a silence filled with sadness.
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A file has been opened
The Fermo prosecutor’s office has opened a file, currently against unknown persons and without hypothesizing crimes, for the collapse of the building. This is a necessary act pending a preliminary report from the fire brigade and forensic police, which can provide useful elements to understand the causes of the deflagration and the subsequent collapse.
From what has been learned, no gas cylinder was found inside the house on the second floor, where the explosion is believed to have occurred; the most probable hypothesis is that there was a gas leak, which saturated a room in the apartment on the second floor of the building and that the switching on of a light triggered the deflagration, which caused the collapse. Also under examination, on the first floor of the building, are the remains of the bedroom where Ettorina Paccapelo, the 90-year-old with respiratory problems and supported by oxygen cylinders, was found lifeless.
The mayor: “It cannot be a normal Sunday”
The disaster area has been seized, while investigations will continue to clarify the causes of the explosion that led to the collapse of the building. Further inspections and technical verifications by the fire brigade and investigators tasked with reconstructing the exact dynamics of the event are expected in the coming hours. “It cannot be a normal Sunday”, wrote mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella on social media.
City mourning on the day of the funerals
“There is an unreal silence, there is pain, prayer and closeness to the injured and the victims’ families.” The mayor has already announced that the Municipality will declare city mourning on the day the funerals of the three victims will be celebrated, a date that has not yet been set. Ciarpella also extended a special thought to the elderly couple Savino Pieroni and Vittoria Lanciotti, who survived the collapse but were heartbroken by the loss of their son Giuseppe. The municipal administration has assured maximum availability to provide all necessary support to the families involved.
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Gratitude for the rescue efforts
The mayor reiterated his sincere gratitude for the impressive rescue operation that worked tirelessly throughout yesterday. “I saw the firefighters digging even with their hands; beyond their professionalism, I saw the sweat and humanity of men who worked in extremely difficult conditions from 5:30 in the morning until the conclusion of operations.”
Thanks were extended to the provincial commander Donatello Di Marzio, to the teams that intervened from all over the region and from outside Marche, to the Usar unit, to the canine units, to the volunteers and to all those who contributed to securing the area and to the numerous representatives of the Government and local institutions who concretely demonstrated closeness and emotional participation on such a difficult day.
Acquaroli’s condolences
The President of the Marche Region, Francesco Acquaroli, who was present on site yesterday until the end of the operations, renewed his condolences to the victims’ families and the entire community of Elpidio. In a message circulated on social media, the governor highlighted the work carried out by over sixty firefighters engaged in searches among the rubble, emphasizing the complexity of an intervention made even more difficult by the risk of further collapses. Today, therefore, is a day of silence in Porto Sant’Elpidio, whose community is grappling with a reality destined to leave its mark.
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