Suspected Homeless Man Killed By Robot Dumpster In Greece While Looking For Food

A man was recently killed in an automated dumpster after he opened the bin and looked inside, apparently in search of food, said authorities in northern Greece.

The unidentified man is believed to be homeless and aged around 40, said police, according to the Associated Press. He was trapped in the dumpster and crushed to death when the compactor mechanism got activated. The tragic incident happened Monday in the northeastern Greek port city of Alexandroupolis. It is located around 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of Athens.

Paramedics and personnel from the fire service were called on the scene. They set up a screen around the dumpster when they removed the man’s body near the center of the city.

Even though it was initially reported that he was homeless, later, it was said that the man was not “a homeless searching for food.” He was an average citizen who had mistakenly thrown a small bag of medicines together with trash in the bin, according to Keep Talking Greece. When he looked for the bag of medicines inside the dumpster, he got killed. A part of his body was reportedly trapped inside and possibly got compressed by the piston of the bin.

The accident happened in front of the Officers’ Club and the History Museum in front of passersby, shoppers and people sitting in the cafeterias in the area. The man's body was taken to the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis. An autopsy will be done there to determine the exact cause of his death.

The automated dumpsters are locally known as “robot dumpsters." They are tall and cylinder-shaped bins that have been installed in several small municipalities. As for the compactors, they help in reducing the frequency of garbage pickups and the odor that comes from the garbage during the hot summer months. It is said that there is no warning sign on the dumpster to draw citizens’ attention on possible risks and dangers.

In another dumpster accident, cops and firefighters rescued a 60-year-old man last month. The man said that he had been stuck in a dumpster in New Jersey for three days, reported Business Insider.

The man, whose name was not revealed, said that he saw a chair in a dumpster in Clifton, New Jersey. He reached in to grab it then he fell in. After the fall, the person sustained minor injuries. He called for help for three days, but nobody came to his aid. He said that in the third day, an apartment complex resident finally heard his screams for help. Then cops and firefighters reached the scene and pulled him out of the dumpster.

Clifton police Lieutenant Robert Bracken said that he could not say for certain the length of time the man spent in the bin. There was no further investigation planned by the police.