Italian prosecutors investigate potential manslaughter in Eni fuel depot blast, sources say

FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors on Wednesday opened a probe into possible manslaughter following an explosion at a fuel depot facility near Florence owned by Italian energy firm Eni that killed five people, two judicial sources said.

The sources added that prosecutors were also looking to see if precautions against workplace accidents were knowingly withdrawn ahead of Monday's disaster.

The entire site in the nearby town of Prato was seized by prosecutors, who are focusing their investigation into maintenance work on the depot that was going on at the time of the accident, the sources said.

Eni said on Tuesday it was cooperating with the judicial authorities to identify the causes of the explosion, adding it was premature to speculate about what had happened. The company had no immediate comment on Wednesday.

Police on Tuesday searched the headquarters of the company where two of the victims worked as well as several Eni offices, according to a search warrant seen by Reuters.

"A fuel spillage occurred at the front of a loading shelter and it is assumed that this spillage was in some way due to a clear disregard for strict procedures and that the consequences of such criminal conduct could not have been known or assessed by the personnel operating on site", the warrant said.

"A witness reported that some labourers were working on pipes, saw some liquid leaking, smelled a stench and walked away to safety," according to the document.

Monday's blast occurred in a loading area for tanker trucks. Authorities said the incident would have had far worse consequences had nearby fuel depots also caught fire.

The depot covers around 180,000 square meters (1.9 million square feet) and is connected to an Eni refinery on the Tuscan coast. Its 24 tanks are used to store gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Eni, one of Italy's largest energy companies, has offered to reimburse people and businesses who suffered material damage as a result of the explosion, local authorities said.

The disaster has raised more questions about workplace safety in Italy, where last year 1,147 people lost their lives while working.

(Reporting by Silvia Ognibene. Writing by Emilio Parodi. Editing by Crispian Balmer and Mark Potter)