Workers began clearing an apartment filled with rubbish and rats on corso Garibaldi in Torre del Greco shortly before 9 a.m. on Monday 5 October.
The intervention was expected to take at least five days, covering removal of the accumulated waste, control of the rat infestation and disinfection of the apartment.
The operation was authorized following a request by Mayor Luigi Mennella, who had signed an urgent cleaning order three months earlier. An earlier urgent-cleaning order had not immediately resolved the situation, while residents had reported severe odours and rats associated with the property.
Firefighters, social workers, the municipal health office, State Police and local police were involved in the operation.
According to the report, the apartment had previously been occupied by a woman with psychiatric problems who was later admitted to a care facility.
The total quantity and categories of waste were not specified, and no independent municipal or public-health document confirming the newspaper account was available.
