Two Die in Greek Olive Oil Factory Storage Tank

The owner of an olive oil fac­tory in Almyro, Greece and one of his work­ers have died after the employee fell in an empty oil stor­age con­tainer and the owner and his sons tried to res­cue him, accord­ing to an Associated Press report.

The report cited police who said the 55-year-old employee was clean­ing the tank yes­ter­day when ​“fumes from the residue of the oil” that had been stored in the con­tainer caused him to pass out and fall in.

According to olive oil con­sul­tant Paul Vossen, how­ever, it prob­a­bly was­n’t residue from olive oil that was to blame, but a lack of oxy­gen. The cul­prit is a well-known haz­ard with stor­age tanks: even if they’re open on the top, a lack of oxy­gen can cause a vic­tim to suf­fo­cate, he said. Olive oil would not give off toxic fumes of any kind.

“Air would not go in unless there was also an open­ing at the bot­tom to get air flow,” Vossen warned. ​“This is a com­mon prob­lem for stor­age tanks. Most places have spe­cific pro­to­cols for enter­ing tanks and oxy­gen tanks avail­able for res­cue. The report from Greece said the res­cuer found oxy­gen, prob­a­bly from a com­pressed oxy­gen tank avail­able nearby for safety and res­cue.”

The fac­tory owner (60) whose name has not been released, and his sons, ages 29 and 32, all climbed in to help the man. They also lost con­scious­ness.

A fifth man who found an oxy­gen tank res­cued the sons, but the owner and one of the work­ers died.