Two sewer workers die after inhaling methane in western Turkey

AYDIN - Doğan News Agency

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Two sewer workers have died after purportedly inhaling methane gas while on duty cleaning a sewer in Kuşadası, a resort town in the Aegean province of Aydın.

İsmail Tavas, 39, and Hasan Fıstıkçı, 50, two employees working at the Aydın Metropolitan Municipality Sewage Affairs Directorate (ASKİ), died after they were allegedly exposed to intense methane gas in a sewer they entered around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 for cleaning and maintenance work.

Tavas’ body was pulled out of the sewer first by firefighters, and he was declared dead after medical staff arrived at the scene. 

Fıstıkçı’s body was then taken out by two crew members of the Search and Rescue Association (AKUT) after the manhole was widened with heavy machinery, since Fıstıkçı was working at a point farther away from the sewer’s cover. 

Fıstıkçı was reported to have been previously exposed to intense methane gas in 2013 while on duty in Kuşadası’s Değirmendere neighborhood, as one of the two survivors of the poisoning incident which left three workers dead.

The bodies of the two were taken to the Kuşadası Public Hospital for medical examinations, and a police investigation has been launched into the incident.

Meanwhile, as many as 12 other workers have been injured in two separate accidents in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Eleven textile workers were injured after a shuttle bus carrying 30 factory workers slid off a road connecting Kayseri to the capital Ankara around 3:20 p.m. on Aug. 5.

A large number of ambulances were dispatched to the scene and the casualties were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. An investigation has been launched into the crash.

In a separate incident in Kayseri, Murat Güneş, 61, a construction worker, was injured after falling about four meters onto concrete from the scaffolding of a mosque construction in the Melikgazi district on Aug. 5.

Güneş was taken to the Kayseri Training and Research Hospital for treatment and reported to be in good condition. An investigation has been launched into the incident.