Brothers drown in a vat of Rioja: Spanish winery worker, 61, dies trying to save 60-year-old who fell in after being overcome by fumes
- Two winery workers died at a family vineyard in Lanciego, northern Spain
- Another man was hospitalised after taking in toxic fumes
- The men were named locally as Gerardo Jubera and Felix Crespo, 60 and 61
A pair of winery workers died after one fell into a fermentation vat in Spain and his brother-in-law then fell in as well when he tried to save him.
The men were named by local media as Gerardo Jubera and Felix Crespo, 60 and 61, from the Crespo Zabala family winery, in Lanciego, northern Spain.
Gerado slipped and fell into the vat while he was checking on the fermentation process of the wine in a warehouse on Sunday.
Felix then rushed to help him, but both of the men died after seemingly being overcome by toxic carbon dioxide fumes.
A 31-year-old man, who has not been named, was also affected by the toxic fumes and airlifted to a nearby hospital.
Local Mayor Itziar de Alava Martinez de Icaya said: ‘It’s something we would all do to save a family member.’
The two men died after Gerardo fell into a fermentation vat in northern Spain
Another man was airlifted to hospital after inhaling toxic fumes
The men worked at the Crespo Zabala family winery, in Lanciego, in northern Spain
She added that the two men were reportedly well-known in the town and their deaths have left locals ‘deeply shocked’.
The region is famous for its production of dark red, full-bodied Rioja wine.
The Basque Institute of Work Safety is investigating the deaths.
The tragedy comes just weeks after another wine-related incident in western Europe.
Winemakers painted the small Portuguese town of São Lourenco do Bairro red after two of its tanks accidentally spilled 2.2million litres of red wine down a quiet street.
A fast-moving river of red wine flowed down a steep hill in the small town, near the coast of Portugal, after two tanks owned by Levira Distillery suddenly gave way.
Baffled locals looked on as the wine, nearly enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool, swept through the streets of the town.
The spill was so massive that local officials triggered an environmental alert and were forced to divert the wine to stop it contaminating the nearby Certima River.
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