Kota: Three labourers died of suffocation in the suspected poisonous gas inhalation in Rajasthan's Kota city on Tuesday. The workers had ventured into a septic tank. They were laying a new sewerage pipe inside the tank in the Balita Road locality in the Kunhadi police station area of the city. The project is being executed under the supervision of the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project (RUIDP)
Four workers went inside the septic tank to clean the chamber and also to lay down new pipes. When they ventured into the tank, they began fainting one after the other. Upon receiving information, the rescue team from Kota Municipal Corporation and police rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
All four labourers were residents of Junapani in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. The police have been overseeing the rescue operation. The supervisor Kuldeep Singh, who was at the project site, was taken into custody on charges of dereliction of duty. Police launched a probe.
Around 4:30 pm, the labourers were found unconscious in the tank. The rescue team from South Kota Municipal Corporation, along with police, started evacuating workers from the tank. Three people were taken out in an unconscious state while one person was breathing and alive.
They were immediately rushed to MBS Hospital in an ambulance. The 25-year-old Kamal Kumar, Galia (24) and Kire Singh (26) were pronounced dead. Top officials of the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project (RUIDP) were camping at the spot.
Mohammad Azhar Khan, Chief Fire Officer of Municipal Corporation (Kota North), said, "Diver Asim Hussain was sent into the chamber about 20 feet below wearing a breathing apparatus. The workers were taken out of the chamber one by one. They were found in an unconscious state. A rescue operation was conducted and three of them were declared brought dead while one worker was alive."
