Two plumbers were killed in a sewer manhole in Odesa region

According to preliminary and officially unconfirmed reports from local Telegram channels, two plumber-fitters died in a sewage manhole on the premises of the “TIS” company near the village of Voronivka. According to preliminary information, a 73-year-old man descended into the sewage manhole to a depth of about 30 meters. Underground he lost consciousness, likely due to gas poisoning.

Seeing that his colleague did not return, a 50-year-old worker decided to rescue him. The man also descended into the manhole but lost consciousness. As a result of the incident both workers died. The exact cause of their deaths is to be established by specialists.

At present the information about the tragedy is preliminary. Law enforcement officers must clarify all the circumstances of the incident, in particular whether the workers were provided with personal protective equipment and whether the enterprise followed the rules for performing gas-hazardous work.

Work in sewage manholes is especially dangerous because of possible accumulation of toxic gases and lack of oxygen. In materials about similar accidents the State Labor Service cited violations of occupational safety rules, work without proper supervision and failure to use protective equipment among the causes.

Earlier we wrote:

• Severed leg, fragments in the chest: Korabelnyi investigates a tragedy at the enterprise where people worked during an alarm
• A moment of inattention — and hands trapped: an accident at a production site in Mykolaiv
• Hired “through connections” — a person died: electrical installation in the Mykolaiv region ended in tragedy
• Water pipeline accident: a worker in Mykolaiv ended up in hospital
• In Mykolaiv at a landfill a garbage truck ran over a loader — the man is in intensive care