A 15-year-old woodworking apprentice in Turkey has died after co-workers allegedly inserted a high-pressure air hose into his rectum in what they claimed was a “prank,” marking yet another case in which compressed air has caused fatal internal injuries in young men.
The incident took place on Friday at a woodworking center in Sanliurfa, where colleagues Habip Aksoy and another friend allegedly overpowered apprentice Muhammed Kendirci, tied his hands, and assaulted him with an air compressor tube, according to local outlet Milliyet.
The forced act reportedly caused severe damage to Kendirci’s internal organs. He was rushed to Harran University Research and Application Hospital, where he died five days later, Milliyet reported.
Aksoy was initially arrested and released on probation before being taken into custody again, the outlet said. The exact charges he faces have not yet been made public.
The case is the latest in a disturbing pattern of similar incidents involving high-pressure air hoses.
In 2023, 16-year-old factory worker Motilal Sahu in India died of internal injuries after a co-worker allegedly inserted a compressed air hose into his rectum “for fun” at a processing plant. Authorities said Dheerajsingh Goud, 21, grabbed the hose attached to his cleaning machine and used it on the teen, causing catastrophic damage to Sahu’s intestines. He collapsed on the floor at the Poona Flour and Foods facility in Hadapsar and later died from his injuries.
In 2017, 17-year-old car wash employee Wesner Moreira da Silva died in Brazil after colleagues allegedly blasted a high-pressure air hose into his anus, leading to fatal internal injuries.
Two men, Thiago Giovanni Demarco Sena and Willian Enrique Larrea, were later convicted of raping and killing da Silva and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
