Two workers die after inhaling toxic fumes

Two workers died after they reportedly inhaled toxic fumes while fixing the walls of a cistern in a building at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City last Thursday.

Earlier reports said the workers were trying to fix an underground water tank and put a sealant when they inhaled toxic fumes, hallucinated and then collapsed.

Richie Angeles of the Pasig Rescue team said the incident occurred at the Cityland Megaplaza building around 4:30 p.m.

Reports said the workers had barely entered the cistern when they felt dizzy.

Edgar de Jesus was the first to get out of the cistern but he had to be helped as he could not pull out his own body.

The four remained trapped inside the tank as they were unable to move.

After being trapped for almost five hours, rescue workers pulled out Richard Rebato and Michael Mendoza who were unconscious.

The two fatalities, identified as Ranil Mendoza and Mel Sapini, were already unconscious and floating inside the cistern with 4-foot deep waters.

Rescue workers said aside from the toxic fumes, the cistern barely had air and the sealant carried a foul smell.

The surviving workers were taken to the Medical City in Pasig City for emergency treatment.

The four were doing some repairs on the walls of the building’s eight-meter-deep water tank located in the basement but wore no safety gear, Angeles said.

They inhaled fumes from the epoxy they were applying to the cistern’s interior walls.

“They started to hallucinate, then they became disoriented and then they collapsed,” Angeles said. –Jason Faustino, Daily Tribune