Winemaker drowns in vat of sparkling wine after rushing to try and save colleague 'overcome by fermentation gas'
18 September 2023, 12:48 | Updated: 18 September 2023, 13:01
Tributes have been paid to an Italian winemaker who died trying to save a colleague who had been overcome by noxious gas.
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Marco Bettollini, 46, died rushing to help his colleague, 31, who had become intoxicated by gases produced during the fermentation process.
Mr Bettollini had tried to rescue his colleague after he fell into a vat at the Ca’ di Rajo winery in north-eastern Italy.
On Thursday, the pair were working in an area where the cellar’s sparking wine was made.
The colleague is believe to have been overcome by noxious fumes, and fell into the vat. Mr Bettollini, seeing him collapse, rushed to help and could not be revived.
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His colleague survived but was rushed to hospital in critical condition - although it is expected he will pull through.
Investigators are working to establish exactly what happened.
One colleague left devastated by his death told Italian news outlet La Repubbblica: “He was a great worker, a very generous and reserved person.”
Owner Simone Cecchetto said: “We are overwhelmed by pain, for us they are two brothers, two sons. My thoughts go only to these two boys, who grew up with us, and their families.”
Fermentation during wine-making can create high levels of carbon dioxide, which can cause dizziness and fainting.
It is not clear what gas the men inhaled to make them collapse - nor why large levels could have built up.
Lieutenant Colonel Marco Turrini said: “These fumes make you lose balance in a matter of seconds.
He added that the vats are narrower at the top than at the base, so anyone who would fall in, especially suffering from dizziness, would struggle to escape.
