Three die in manhole

[Coppersmith]

The cause has not been determined. I'm thinking low oxygen.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/26/three-workers-killed-after-getting-trapped-in-indiana-manhole/

 

[GoldDigger]

The cause has not been determined. I'm thinking low oxygen.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/26/three-workers-killed-after-getting-trapped-in-indiana-manhole/

One question not answered was how they were "trapped." Rising water, or not actually trapped at all, just overcome? Five feet of water is pretty deep if they got into a pipe section rather than the manhole itself.

 

[hillbilly1]

Or could be sewer gas, even though it was a storm drain, raw sewage has been known to get in there. I put remote controls on an underground lift station, the sewer department had only one field employee, and he had to test the pumps daily. He did not like going down into the vault even though it was ventilated. Put the controls at the top of the manhole so he could hear the pumps run without going down in.

 

[GoldDigger]

Or could be sewer gas, even though it was a storm drain, raw sewage has been known to get in there. I put remote controls on an underground lift station, the sewer department had only one field employee, and he had to test the pumps daily. He did not like going down into the vault even though it was ventilated. Put the controls at the top of the manhole so he could hear the pumps run without going down in.

Definitely not a good idea to go down when nobody else is there.

 

[gadfly56]

Definitely not a good idea to go down when nobody else is there.

That would be a clear violation of any confined space entry procedure that I've ever heard of. Same with those three workers. They are supposed to be harnessed and hooked to a tripod with someone topside to haul them out in case of trouble.

 

[Cow]

I have a stickied thread in ET's workplace safety section about a near miss we had in an underground vault.

It's like electricity, sometimes you can't physically see the danger that's there.

 

[GoldDigger]

"It's not a confined space, it's just a manhole...."

EDIT: For those who may have missed the point, the above is a satirical remark intended to represent the attitude of some workers who find themselves in this situation.

 

[LarryFine]

The water could have been electrified.

 

[petersonra]

There are some pretty stringent safety requirements to go into confined spaces. I wonder if they bothered to follow them.

 

[Fred B]

"It's not a confined space, it's just a manhole....

I believe OSHA considers most of what is normally viewed as a manhole meeting the definition of a confined space. Especially when viewed from the point of limited egress. Other hazzards can normally be present in such circumstances that would require special precautions. So hope this comment postscript was lol.
I wouldn't be surprised if OSHA issues some fines over this.

 

[102 Inspector]

A follow up report indicated that the workers died due to low oxygen levels and then subsequent drowning. In years past, before all the confined space requirements, I found myself in manholes and feeling very uncomfortable. This accident was approximately 40 miles from my home town and I had worked with the company before and a small project. I find it difficult to believe they did not follow safety protocol, but probably will never know. A father, son and coworker all died due to conditions that might have been preventable.

 

[gadfly56]

A follow up report indicated that the workers died due to low oxygen levels and then subsequent drowning. In years past, before all the confined space requirements, I found myself in manholes and feeling very uncomfortable. This accident was approximately 40 miles from my home town and I had worked with the company before and a small project. I find it difficult to believe they did not follow safety protocol, but probably will never know. A father, son and coworker all died due to conditions that might have been preventable.

Ahh, Geez. Some poor woman is burying her husband and her son? I cannot imagine the grief.

 

[tom baker]

In WA, a manhole is a confined space, all the confined space training classes clearly included manholes

 

[yesterlectric]

Unfortunately, this type of story comes up every couple years. There's been a number of these incidents where the multi fatalities are due to people going in one after the other, to check on the other guy when he fails to show when expected.

 

[drcampbell]

"asphyxia caused by a low-oxygen environment and subsequent drowning" ...
"Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating" ...

3 killed in northeastern Indiana sewer project identified

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (AP) — A coroner has identified a father and son as two of the three men who died after becoming trapped in a manhole while working on a sewer project in northeastern Indiana’s...

apnews.com

 

[Bluegrass Boy]

Wow! This is very sad news.
Typically whenever I have witnessed guys working in a manhole, they had a blower to push fresh air inside the work area. The company should provide these for their guys.

 

[zbang]

I thought blowers and the like were required, as well as a gas check. I know I'd never go into a space like that without a good air supply.

 

[petersonra]

My guess is someone who didn't bother to follow the rules because the safety rules only apply to other people. Every few years you run across stories about farmers who go into I'm a newer pit and get overcome. Often someone without the proper training or equipment price to rescue them and succumbs himself.

 

[Fred B]

Isn't part of the PPE for entry to enclosed manhole, or pit like this is having a harness with cable and winch along with a top side person that if an incident was to occur rather than another person entering the space just winch the unresponsive person out, or if entry is the only way a seperate air source or air pack for the rescuer. It's a shame that 3 had to die for not following safety protocol.

 

[petersonra]

Isn't part of the PPE for entry to enclosed manhole, or pit like this is having a harness with cable and winch along with a top side person that if an incident was to occur rather than another person entering the space just winch the unresponsive person out, or if entry is the only way a seperate air source or air pack for the rescuer. It's a shame that 3 had to die for not following safety protocol.

I suspect we will find eventually that no safety protocols that were followed at all. They just went in because they done it a hundred times before and nobody had ever died before so obviously it was safe. This is the kind of thinking that gets people killed on a regular basis.