Winemaker dies while trying to save colleague who fainted in wine vat

(CNN) - A winemaker reportedly died in northern Italy on Thursday while trying to save his colleague who had passed out in a wine vat.

It happened at a winery in the city of Treviso.

Authorities say the man’s co-worker had fainted from carbon monoxide fumes while doing maintenance work.

They were working in a processing tank that had just been emptied of wine when fumes from the fermentation process overwhelmed them.

Neither of them had breathing apparatuses or safety harnesses.

A local trade union official is pushing for more action to prevent workplace deaths.

The official cited a recent plea by Italian President Sergio Mattarella to beef up training following a series of workplace accidents.

Those situations included a man who died when cheese rounds fell on him earlier this summer.