Trieste fire deaths spark dispute over responsibility and migrant services

A fire at the Magazzino 18 building in Trieste’s Porto Vecchio killed two people on November 1.

One victim was 21-year-old Marilisa Covasso, who lived in Buja; the other was a 23-year-old man.

Investigators are examining whether a fire lit inside the building spread smoke that caused the deaths.

The tragedy has prompted a political dispute over who bears responsibility and whether the city should have a migrant reception centre.

Regional governor Massimiliano Fedriga accused Mitja Gialuz, a centre-left figure, of exploiting the victims’ deaths.

Fratelli d’Italia regional group leader Claudio Giacomelli said centre-left politicians had reacted differently to two migrant deaths in Udine in 2025.

The circumstances of the fire remain under investigation, including how Covasso and the other man came to be in the building.