metro

2 killed in septic tank accident

LA PRENSA

tragedy: The men were thought to be cleaning the septic tank.1089792

Two workers died and five others were nearly asphyxiated by toxic fumes yesterday afternoon after falling into a septic tank in the community of 24 de Diciembre.

The workers were attempting to service the septic system at the supermarket Super Xtra, located in La Doña shopping center. Mariela Guerrero, of the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Panamá, reported that the accident took place shortly after noon, but remarked that authorities are still investigating the details.

According to witnesses, the two workers slipped into the septic tank during a routine cleaning procedure, and the other five workers suffered from toxic gas inhalation while trying to rescue them. Emergency authorities suspect the workers encountered pockets of concentrated ammonia gas that had built up within the septic tank.

The victims of the accident were identified as Benito Mojica and Edgar Pitt, 22, who also worked as a butcher in the Super Xtra supermarket, according to Pitt’s sister.

The workers were taken to Complejo Hospitalario Arnulfo Arias Madrid and Hospital Santo Tomás.

Relatives of victims complained that the supermarket had forced the workers to clean the septic tank, but the store’s management stated that they had given such an order and that employees would have known that the septic tank was considered a restricted zone, off-limits to all except specialized staff.