Fumes kill two water firm workers

Two workers of a British-owned firm contracted by the Manila Water Company, suffocated to death while checking out the gate valves inside a 25-feet chamber of the San Juan Reservoir in Quezon City.

Manila Water Company's corporate affairs director Joel Lacsamana identified the fatalities as Antonio Samson, 46, and Marcial Ancheta, 26, both contract workers of Hydrolube, Inc. Their bodies were found at 2:10 p.m.

At press time, officials of the Manila Water Co. have yet to check on the condition of another worker, Renato Quijado, 27, who was taken to a hospital in San Juan.

The company employed the service of Hydrolube, Inc. headed by Peter Eston, about two weeks ago to "inject" lubricants in the dilapidated valves inside the water reservoir. "We have hundreds of these valves in Metro Manila. They were being checked regularly to regulate the flow of water inside the reservoir," Lacsama said.

The `clean-up' is part of the agency's efforts to improve services of the Manila Water Co., which is serving the `east-zone' of Metro Manila. "This (project) was aimed to clear the valves of rust and other impurities," he said.

Yesterday, the workers were conducting "finishing touches" on the huge valves when the two workers were suffocated by the thick smoke coming from the tubes.

Lacsamana added that the fatalities died of suffocation after inhaling poisonous fumes with foul smell from the valves inside the 25-feet chamber. The water agency has started an investigation to determine the culpability of Hydrolube, Inc., in the incident.

The Hydrolube, Inc. Lacsamana said, has been hired to place lubricants at the agency's valves since the privatization of water services in 1997.

The water agency has padlocked the area until the investigation has been concluded. Even the press and television crews were barred from entering the compound along N. Domingo Street in Barangay Horseshoe.--