Videos show rescue of doctor who was ‘swallowed’ by sidewalk crater
Videos taken by passing pedestrians show how the doctor was rescued “swallowed” by a hole that opened on the sidewalk in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, in the south of Espírito Santo, this Monday (1st). At least five people participated in the rescue until a medical team arrived. The problem on the sidewalk may have been caused by the roots of a tree, which caused a rupture in the drainage network.
The man who fell into the hole is Eurípedes Fernando Melo, 84 years old. He is an orthopedist, he broke his femur and had to undergo surgery.
The images show two people inside the hole talking to Euripides. They ask if the doctor can move his feet and legs.
At another point, a group tries to get a rope to try to get him out of the hole. It is possible to see the victim lying down with three people around him. Euripides has his arms behind his head.
Afterwards, a medical aid team arrives with a stretcher and manages to remove him. Euripides is taken into an ambulance, and people applaud.
In addition to the femur fracture, the doctor suffered trauma to the chest. He had to have a rod put in his right leg.
Unimed Sul Capixaba also reported that Eurípedes remained hospitalized this Tuesday morning (2), lucid and oriented.
Shortly after the accident, the Cachoeiro de Itapemirim city hall and the BRK water concessionaire were contacted. BRK’s technical team went to the location and found that the incident was not related to the water and sewage networks operated by the concessionaire, which are operational.
Cachoeiro City Hall also said that it is evaluating the causes and will send a team to the site this Monday to see what repairs need to be made and begin the work. The area was isolated.
The person responsible for the sidewalk, owner of the house in front, is lawyer Arthur Buteri. He said there was no sign of risk at the location. Still according to Arthur, an engineer was called to assess what happened.
The Espírito Santo Regional Engineering and Agronomy Council (Crea-ES) pointed out that a rupture was identified in the drainage network in the region, probably caused by tree roots in the area.
“In this section, specifically, there is a mixed drainage network, which receives both water and sewage. Next to it there is a tree with roots reaching not only the wall, but this network. We believe that there was a leak there. This water began to remove the layer of soil and other elements there from the base and close to the pavement, which caused the sinking of the sidewalk, the sidewalk and consequently the collapse of the wall”, explained Erivelto Diogo da Silva, Crea engineer.
According to the advisor, there is concern that similar situations could occur along the sidewalk, as there are other trees and continuity of the drainage and sewage network, with a single concrete pipe passing through the area.
“We have trees along this road, whose roots may be carrying out the same process. So, the first step is to carry out an assessment. If we do not have similar situations that could lead to situations like these or even more unwanted ones”, he highlighted.
Crater opens into sidewalk and man passing by is swallowed by the hole
Images recorded a man in blue walking with a bag. He passed in front of a lot with no parking signs and then the sidewalk gave way and the man fell into the hole, which appeared “hollow” beneath the floor.
From another angle, it is possible to see that the place was a garage, and when the sidewalk gave way, part of the wall fell onto the hole where the victim was.
A person who was inside the land where the part collapsed ran out to see what happened, and other people who were on the street also went to the hole to try to help.
Another man approached the hole and appeared to try to talk to the victim. Then he began to descend into the hole. Driver Geraldo Mussi was the first to help the victim.
“He arrived, parked the car and went to the hospital to get an exam and came up. The hole sank and the stone fell on top of him. We came and helped him, put him in the ambulance and he was helped”, said the driver.
