2 die due to asphyxiation while cleaning water sump

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Two migrant workers died of suspected asphyxiation and two others are under treatment after they collapsed while cleaning a sump at a local factory in Thirupalya of Anekal Taluk.

The incident took place at the Sunshine Moulding Factory around 5 pm on Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Chandan Rajban Singh and Pinto Rajban Singh, both in their 30s, hailing from Bihar.

Two others, the factory owner Srinivas Reddy and manager Jagadish were shifted to hospital after they fell unconscious while trying to save Chandan and Pinto, the police said.

So far the probe revealed that Chandan and Pinto were asked to clean the underground sump by the manager after which the two brothers drained the water out and poured some acid into the sump.

Later when they got down into the tank to clean it, the duo felt difficulty in breathing and started screaming for help. Until the owner and manager rushed to help them, Chandan and Pinto had fallen unconscious into the sump. Srinivas and Jagadish attempted to pull the duo out of the sump, but they too collapsed.

Other factory workers alerted the police and the fire department. A rescue team, wearing oxygen masks, entered the sump and brought out the bodies of the four men and rushed them to a hospital.

Chandan and Pinto were declared brought dead. Hebbagodi police registered a case of criminal negligence causing accidental deaths against the factory owner and the manager under Section 304-A of the IPC, the police said.

The authorities are currently looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine accountability. The bodies were handed over to the families on Thursday following postmortem analysis.