Incheon Manhole Accident: 40s Representative Who Tried to Save Employee Dies... Organ Donation

[Financial News] The 40s representative of a company who entered a manhole to save an employee during the Incheon manhole accident lost consciousness and was rescued in cardiac arrest, has died after 8 days.

According to the police and medical community on the 14th, on the morning of the same day, Mr. A (48), the representative of a wastewater pipeline investigation company, died while receiving treatment in the emergency intensive care unit of a certain university hospital in Incheon.

Mr. A was rescued in a state of cardiac arrest from a manhole on a road in Byeongbang-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon City, at around 9:48 a.m. on the 6th, and died after 8 days without regaining consciousness.

It is understood that Mr. A suffered the accident while trying to rescue Mr. B (52), a day laborer of the company, who collapsed inside the manhole on the day of the accident. Mr. B was also found dead at the end point of the Gulpocheon Sewage Treatment Plant at around 10:40 a.m. on the 7th, a day after he went missing.

Mr. A's family expressed their intention to donate organs to the hospital, and it was reported that surgery was scheduled to proceed in the afternoon.

Previously, the police requested an autopsy of Mr. B's body from the National Forensic Service and received a preliminary verbal opinion that "it is presumed to have died from gas poisoning."

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office has formed a dedicated team of 15 inspectors from the Metropolitan Serious Accident Investigation Division to investigate the Incheon manhole accident.

The police also formed a dedicated investigation team of 12 members and decided to determine whether to apply charges of occupational negligence resulting in death after identifying the entity responsible for on-site safety management.

Meanwhile, the investigation revealed that Mr. A's company was in charge of subcontracting work for the 'Interceptor Pipeline (Sewage Pipe) GIS (Geographic Information System) Database Construction Service' ordered by the Incheon Environmental Corporation.

The Incheon Environmental Corporation prohibited subcontracting in the task order, but the service company subcontracted to another company, and the subcontractor further subcontracted to another company.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter