See more of our coverage in your search results.
A beloved father working at a sausage factory in Brazil was killed after he was sucked into an ice-crushing machine in a horrifying freak accident, according to reports.
Diego Fernando Gonzaga, 39, was working the morning shift at the meat production center HG Foods in Santa Luzia Monday when he fell into the machine and got trapped, according to the local outlet g1.globo.com
Rescuers frantically tried to pull him out but his legs became stuck — and he went into cardiac arrest while inside, according to the UK Sun.
“My heart is shattered,” said his devastated mom, Maria de Fatima, according to the paper.
“You receive the news that your child leaves home alive and healthy to go to work, and then you find out he is gone. It is very sad.”
Gonzaga — a longtime food industry worker and father of a 19-year-old daughter — was still conscious and reportedly speaking to colleagues while he waited for fire officials to rescue him, the paper reported.
Rescuers reportedly tried to free him using hydraulic equipment and cutting tools to dismantle parts of the machine to no avail.
Gonzaga had been covering a 5:30 a.m. shift for a co-worker when he was killed, according to the local outlet, bhaz.com.br.
De Fatima said she had already been grieving the heartbreaking deaths of other relatives in recent months, including her mom, an aunt, an uncle and a cousin.
“It is the children who should bury their parents, not parents burying their children,” de Fatima said.
“He will be greatly missed. We will never truly get over it. It is a huge loss.”
Gonzaga’s cousin, Mariana Alberto, said he was known for his upbeat personality.
“He was very cheerful and was always singing and dancing. He wanted to live—to live life to the fullest and be happy,” Alberto told g1.globo.com
The logistics of the accident were not immediately clear Wednesday.
Reps from the meat factory didn’t return a request for comment from bhaz.com.br.
