A 39-year-old father was killed in a horrific workplace accident at a sausage factory in Brazil after becoming trapped inside an ice-crushing machine, according to reports.
Diego Fernando Gonzaga was working the morning shift at the HG Foods meat production facility in Santa Luzia on Monday when he fell into the machine and became trapped, local outlet g1.globo.com reported.
Rescuers made desperate efforts to free him, but his legs were pinned inside the equipment. He suffered cardiac arrest while still trapped, according to the UK Sun.
“My heart is shattered,” his grieving mother, Maria de Fatima, said, according to the newspaper.
“You receive the news that your child left home alive and healthy to go to work, and then you learn that he is gone. It is very sad.”
Gonzaga, a longtime food-industry worker and father to a 19-year-old daughter, remained conscious and was reportedly speaking with colleagues as he waited for firefighters to reach him, the paper reported.
Rescuers reportedly used hydraulic equipment and cutting tools in an attempt to dismantle parts of the machine and release him, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Gonzaga had been filling in for a colleague during a 5:30 a.m. shift when the fatal accident occurred, according to local outlet bhaz.com.br.
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De Fatima said she had already been mourning the recent deaths of several other relatives, including her mother, an aunt, an uncle and a cousin.
“It is the children who should bury their parents, not parents bury their children,” de Fatima said.
“He will be deeply missed. We will never truly get over this. It is an enormous loss.”
Gonzaga’s cousin, Mariana Alberto, said he was known for his joyful and outgoing nature.
“He was very cheerful and was always singing and dancing. He wanted to live—to enjoy life to the fullest and be happy,” Alberto told g1.globo.com.
The precise circumstances surrounding the accident were not immediately clear Wednesday.
Representatives of the meat factory did not respond to a request for comment from bhaz.com.br.
