Tree roots may have caused a crater that ‘swallowed’ a man on a sidewalk in Cachoeiro, ES | South of ES

Crater opens into sidewalk and man passing by is swallowed by the hole

After falling into the hole, part of a wall fell on the victim, who is admitted to a hospital and underwent surgery.

“In this section, specifically, there is a mixed drainage network, which receives both water and sewage. Next to it there is a tree with roots reaching not only the wall, but this network. We believe that there was a leak there. This water began to remove the layer of soil and other elements there from the base and close to the pavement, which caused the sinking of the sidewalk, the sidewalk and consequently the collapse of the wall”, explained Erivelto Diogo da Silva, Crea engineer.

According to the advisor, there is concern that similar situations could occur along the sidewalk, as there are other trees and continuity of the drainage and sewage network, with a single concrete pipe passing through the area.

“We have trees along this road, whose roots may be carrying out the same process. So, the first step is to carry out an assessment. If we do not have similar situations that could lead to situations like these or even more unwanted ones”, he highlighted.

Eurípedes Fernando Melo is an orthopedic doctor. He was rescued and taken to a hospital, where he underwent tests. He suffered a fractured femur in his right leg and trauma to his chest.

On Monday afternoon, his son, Alberto Soeiro, informed the reporter that his father is lucid and underwent surgery.

According to Unimed Sul Capixaba, doctor Eurípedes underwent surgery and underwent definitive surgery on the femur with the inclusion of a rod. He is lucid and oriented, the press office said.

Images recorded a man in blue walking with a bag. He passed in front of a lot with no parking signs and then the sidewalk gave way and the man fell into the hole, which appeared “hollow” beneath the floor.

From another angle, it is possible to see that the place was a garage, and when the sidewalk gave way, part of the wall fell onto the hole where the victim was.

A person who was inside the land where the part collapsed ran out to see what happened, and other people who were on the street also went to the hole to try to help.

Another man approached the hole and appeared to try to talk to the victim. Then he began to descend into the hole. Driver Geraldo Mussi was the first to help the victim.

“He arrived, parked the car and went to the hospital to get an exam and came up. The hole sank and the stone fell on top of him. We came and helped him, put him in the ambulance and he was helped”, said the driver.

According to Erivelto, preliminary work is being done to remove the structure from the site, which could fall on people, in addition to restoring the drainage network so that, if used, this water does not further compromise this road structure.

In the case of drainage, according to him, the responsibility lies with the municipality. Cachoeiro de Itapemirim City Hall was contacted, but did not return until the last update of this report. On Monday afternoon, management had informed that a team was on site to check the repairs that needed to be made and begin the work.

The Crea engineer further explained that the big problem with occurrences in drainage systems is that they generally do not show signs. “They are completely covered and paved on top, so good maintenance, good management and good design mean that [esse tipo de problema]”.

A separator system, dividing one network for water and another for sewage, also prevents this type of accident, explains the engineer. According to the professional, drainage must be done inside an envelope to prevent, in the event of a break or leak, this subsidence and compromising the physical integrity of the people who will use this route.

“Another factor is the selection of suitable tree species to use on public roads, which do not have these types of roots that compromise both the structures of houses and third-party structures, whether water or sewage networks”, he pointed out.