Three Syrian workers die from inhaling toxic gases, Bekaa

BEKAA — The bodies of three Syrian nationals were removed by the Masnaa Civil Defense team (Syrian border) from a manhole in the village of Marj, in the Bekaa, our correspondent reports.

The three men became trapped in the pipes, and their remains were transported to the Bekaa Governmental Hospital.

A Civil Defense source told L’Orient Today that the three victims were workers tasked with cleaning the manhole. Two of them went down first. A combination of toxic gas emissions and a lack of oxygen caused them to lose consciousness and then suffocate. Alarmed by their delay in resurfacing, the third man tried to join them, but unfortunately he too lost his life.

This is not the first time such tragedies have occurred during a sewer cleaning operation in Lebanon. On July 17 last year, five workers died while carrying out maintenance work at a wastewater treatment station of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Authority in Khaldeh, south of Beirut.

The Civil Defense investigation concluded that the first worker died from inhaling toxic substances, while the other four lost their lives trying to rescue him.

The Directorate General of Civil Defense then reaffirmed “the importance of strictly following workplace safety guidelines, particularly in confined spaces exposed to toxic gas emissions.”

Reporting by our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.