JEDDAH, 7 December 2002 — An expatriate worker drowned in an underground septic tank on the Television Street in southern Jeddah on Wednesday. Two passersby were critically injured while trying to rescue him.
By the time a Civil Defense team arrived at the scene the man was dead. However, they took out the other two from the tank in an unconscious state.
Eyewitnesses said the two people went down a manhole after hearing cries for help from beneath, but were trapped inside the tank.
Col. Muhammed Al-Ghamdi, director of Jeddah Civil Defense, told Arab News that the investigations department at the Civil Defense has already launched an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the accident.
A source at the King Abdul Aziz Hospital confirmed that one of the victims was brought dead to the hospital. While the second man remained unconscious, the third showed signs of severe mental shock. They are still in a critical condition, though no internal injuries have been detected, the source said.
In a similar accident in Hail last week, five shoppers, including three women and two children, suffered minor injuries after falling into a sewage tank in a crowded marketplace. The accident occurred when the lid covering the septic tank at the center of Barzan souk caved in as they walked over it. An expatriate laborer and street vendors rescued them.
Hail Governor Prince Saud ibn Abdul Mohsin said, “Though the accident did not cause major injuries, it sounded a warning bell for those concerned to take necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of such accidents.”
The prince ordered the concerned departments to conduct a survey to identify this kind of deathtraps in the city and take immediate steps to protect people’s lives.
