Vietnam Pig Farm Suffers Fatalities Due to Hydrogen Sulfide Poisoning, Safety Protocols Questioned

Five workers died and eight others were injured in a hydrogen sulfide poisoning incident at a pig farm in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam, during maintenance work on a wastewater treatment tank. Authorities have initiated a criminal case on suspicion of violating labor safety regulations and are investigating the cause and responsibility. The accident occurred around 5:30 PM on July 18 at a wastewater treatment tank in section 3 of the pig breeding and commercial farm operated by Dabaco Thanh Hóa Company, located in Thach Qu'ang commune. Initially, a worker, identified as Bui Van Ve, 37, fell into the pit while repairing the wastewater drainage system and showed signs of gas asphyxiation. Upon discovering the situation, Truong Van Lam, 35, and several other workers entered the tank one after another to rescue him but also inhaled the gas. By the early morning of July 19, three workers had died: Bui Van Ve, Truong Van Lam, and Bui Van Tuyen, 39. Approximately 10 hours later, two more workers, Nguyen Van Thiet, 34, from Thanh Hoa, and Tran Dinh Cong, 28, from Hanoi, also passed away. Among the five deceased, engineer Tran Dinh Cong was from Hanoi, while the rest were general workers with expertise in animal husbandry, mechanics, and electricity. The eight injured men, aged between 32 and 46, included two who were directly involved in the rescue and were wearing safety ropes. They were pulled out promptly after losing consciousness for a few minutes. The other six assisted in pulling the victims up from the tank opening. Doctors confirmed that the patients suffered from hydrogen sulfide (H2S) poisoning, a highly toxic gas that accumulates in confined spaces. The health of the eight injured individuals is currently stable, and they have been discharged from the hospital. Five of them have already returned to work. The pig farm of Dabaco Thanh Hóa Company is located deep within a mountain valley in Thach Qu'ang commune. The company, part of the Dabaco Vietnam Group, is the investor in the project for breeding piglets and commercial pigs in Thach Qu'ang commune. The project received investment approval in 2021 with a total capital of VND 770 billion (approximately USD 32 million), spanning over 50 hectares, and a scale of 5,600 sows and over 158,000 commercial pigs per year. The farm began operations in October 2022. Mr. Tran Xuan Manh, Director of Dabaco Thanh Hóa Company, stated that the farm in Thach Qu'ang commune employs over 390 workers across four sub-farms. They are all under labor contracts and have full insurance coverage. Before starting work, employees receive operational safety training. "However, the gas asphyxiation situation was unprecedented, leaving the victims completely unprepared," he said. Information Source: VnExpress