A worker died while trying to rescue his unconscious colleague from a pit filled with chemical fumes at a construction site in Sitio Asang, Barangay Pangyan, Calinan District, Davao City, May 5.
Authorities identified the fatality as 41-year-old Relly Semblante. His colleague, 31-year-old Junrey Villar, survived the incident.
Initial police investigation revealed that Villar was the first to descend into the pit, where he was reportedly exposed to an unidentified chemical odor and lost consciousness. Seeing this, Semblante went down to save him and managed to tie a rope around Villar’s body before collapsing himself.
Co-workers were able to pull Villar out of the pit, but Semblante remained trapped and later died.
The exact type of chemical involved in the incident has not been determined. The Calinan Police Station is currently investigating the case to identify the chemical substance and assess possible negligence or safety violations.
