hyunelan2
08-18-2006, 04:10 PM
Worker trapped nearly chest-deep in tank of chocolate for 2 hours at Wisconsin factory
Associated Press
Published August 18, 2006, 1:00 PM CDT
KENOSHA, Wis. -- It might sound like a chocoholic's dream, but stepping into a vat of bubbling hot chocolate became a two-hour nightmare for a 21-year-old man Friday morning.
Donovan Garcia, an employee of a Kenosha company that supplies chocolate ingredients, said he was pushing the chocolate down into the vat at Debelis Corp. because it was stuck. But it became loose and he slid into the hopper, becoming trapped nearly chest-deep in the hot, thick, dark chocolate. The chocolate was 110 degrees, hotter than a hot tub, said Capt. Greg Sinnen of the Kenosha Fire Department.
"It was in my hair, in my ears, my mouth, everywhere," said Garcia, who has worked at the company for two years. "I felt like I weighed 900 pounds. I couldn't move."
Co-workers, police and firefighters tried to free Donovan but his pants were caught on a roller. They couldn't get him loose until the chocolate was thinned out. Garcia said his colleagues added cocoa butter to thin out the chocolate.
"It was pretty thick. It was virtually like quicksand," said Police Capt. Randy Berner.
Sinnen said firefighters helped scoop out the chocolate from the vat and when enough was removed, Garcia was able to take his pants off and be lifted out. By that time it was about 1:30 a.m., about two and a half hours after he fell in.
Garcia was taken to a nearby medial center for treatment for minor injuries and was later released.
Associated Press
Published August 18, 2006, 1:00 PM CDT
KENOSHA, Wis. -- It might sound like a chocoholic's dream, but stepping into a vat of bubbling hot chocolate became a two-hour nightmare for a 21-year-old man Friday morning.
Donovan Garcia, an employee of a Kenosha company that supplies chocolate ingredients, said he was pushing the chocolate down into the vat at Debelis Corp. because it was stuck. But it became loose and he slid into the hopper, becoming trapped nearly chest-deep in the hot, thick, dark chocolate. The chocolate was 110 degrees, hotter than a hot tub, said Capt. Greg Sinnen of the Kenosha Fire Department.
"It was in my hair, in my ears, my mouth, everywhere," said Garcia, who has worked at the company for two years. "I felt like I weighed 900 pounds. I couldn't move."
Co-workers, police and firefighters tried to free Donovan but his pants were caught on a roller. They couldn't get him loose until the chocolate was thinned out. Garcia said his colleagues added cocoa butter to thin out the chocolate.
"It was pretty thick. It was virtually like quicksand," said Police Capt. Randy Berner.
Sinnen said firefighters helped scoop out the chocolate from the vat and when enough was removed, Garcia was able to take his pants off and be lifted out. By that time it was about 1:30 a.m., about two and a half hours after he fell in.
Garcia was taken to a nearby medial center for treatment for minor injuries and was later released.