The victims died from embolisms, caused when blood vessels are blocked – usually by a clot, a fat globule or an air bubble. More than 50 suspicious deaths involving Garofalo and two other stretcher-bearers are under investigation, the paper said. The deaths – all involving patients from the Biancavilla hospital, about 18 miles (30km) from Catania in the east of the island – occurred over a four-year period beginning in 2012. The local police chief, Raffaele Covetti, said the the killings were “a particularly cruel way for these people to die”. Witnesses had only been prepared to talk because several clan members had already been jailed as part of a broader ongoing operation, he said.

Source: The Guardian December 22, 2017 16:41 UTC