StillBehindBlueEyes
08-19-2006, 03:39 PM
Worker trapped for hours in vat of chocolate
Washington, United States
19 August 2006 09:32
A worker slipped into a vat of chocolate in a candy factory and was trapped for hours when the confection hardened around him, according to local media reports on Friday.
Other workers at the Debelis Corporation factory in Kenosha, in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, tried to pull 21-year-old Darmin Garcia from the chocolate vat, but his clothes were caught on the mixing machinery. Emergency services were quickly called.
The incident began at about 11pm on Thursday during an overnight shift at the factory, and it took about two-and-a-half hours before he was freed. Kenosha, an industrial city on Lake Michigan, lies between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois.
Garcia, a two-year veteran of the factory, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he slipped and fell chest-deep into the vat of dark-style chocolate.
"I was pushing the chocolate down into the vat because it was stuck," said Garcia (21). "It came loose, and I just slid down the hopper into the chocolate."
The chocolate in the vat was about 43 degrees Celsius, similar to hot bath water but viscous like cement.
"It was in my hair, in my ears, my mouth, everywhere," Garcia told the newspaper. "I felt like I weighed 900 pounds. I couldn't move."
Other workers tried to loosen the chocolate's density by mixing in cocoa butter, while firefighters shovelled out some of the contents of the vat. After sustained rescue efforts, Garcia was yanked out without his pants, which remained caught inside the vat.
He was treated at a local hospital and released.
Debelis is a subsidiary of Belgian-based Puratos Group. -- Sapa-dpa
Cnn's version of the story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/18/trapped.chocolate.ap/) with picture
Washington, United States
19 August 2006 09:32
A worker slipped into a vat of chocolate in a candy factory and was trapped for hours when the confection hardened around him, according to local media reports on Friday.
Other workers at the Debelis Corporation factory in Kenosha, in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, tried to pull 21-year-old Darmin Garcia from the chocolate vat, but his clothes were caught on the mixing machinery. Emergency services were quickly called.
The incident began at about 11pm on Thursday during an overnight shift at the factory, and it took about two-and-a-half hours before he was freed. Kenosha, an industrial city on Lake Michigan, lies between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois.
Garcia, a two-year veteran of the factory, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he slipped and fell chest-deep into the vat of dark-style chocolate.
"I was pushing the chocolate down into the vat because it was stuck," said Garcia (21). "It came loose, and I just slid down the hopper into the chocolate."
The chocolate in the vat was about 43 degrees Celsius, similar to hot bath water but viscous like cement.
"It was in my hair, in my ears, my mouth, everywhere," Garcia told the newspaper. "I felt like I weighed 900 pounds. I couldn't move."
Other workers tried to loosen the chocolate's density by mixing in cocoa butter, while firefighters shovelled out some of the contents of the vat. After sustained rescue efforts, Garcia was yanked out without his pants, which remained caught inside the vat.
He was treated at a local hospital and released.
Debelis is a subsidiary of Belgian-based Puratos Group. -- Sapa-dpa
Cnn's version of the story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/18/trapped.chocolate.ap/) with picture