Sobs and unspeakable sadness enveloped the Dahan family in Brooklyn yesterday as they bid farewell to their father and son who were killed killed in a freak cesspool accident at a Queens sewage plant. “What can you say to a family that in one moment lost a patriarch and a son?” wondered Rabbi Yirmiyahu Levy, rabbi at the Mill Basin Sephardic Congregation, where Mr. Dahan davened, in a moving hesped before the large crowd.
“Who can believe this?”
Shlomo Dahan, 49, passed away on Monday in a desperate attempt to rescue his 23-year-old son Harel from the deadly fumes of an 18-foot-deep cesspool at the Queens sewage plant.
A third man, Rene Francisco Rivas, mwas killed when he went after Shlomo Dahan.
Shlomo Dahan, co-owner of S. Dahan Sewer Specialists, worked alongside his employees. The younger Dahan liked being at his father’s side.
“He loved what he did, because he worked with his father,” said Shaul Hanuka, 23, a friend of Harel.
The victims’ family was among the 500 people who filled Shomrei Hadas Chapels in Boro Park. Shlomo is survived by three sons, ages 15 to 25, and his devoted wife.
“Abba! Abba!” shouted one devastated son. “I love you, Abba!”
Shlomo and his son will be buried today in the bais hakevaros in Zichron Yaakov, where Shlomo’s parents still live.
Yehi zichrom boruch.
{Elisha Ferber-Matzav.com Newscenter}
