The New Indian Express ·
Three die of asphyxiation in septic tank in Odisha
BERHAMPUR: Two masons and a labourer died of suspected asphyxiation after being exposed to toxic gases inside a newly-constructed septic tank at Tarpaguda village under Guluguda panchayat in Rayagada’s Padmapur area on Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Harishchandra Bir (55) and Prakash Lima (43), both masons, besides daily-wage labourer Alok Karad (33). All three were residents of Jibajagatpur village under Padmapur block.
Locals said the mishap took place while work was underway to remove the centring and clean the newly-constructed septic tank at the house of one Biswanath Barik.
According to preliminary information, Alok first entered the tank to carry out the cleaning and centring-removal work. However, he reportedly became unconscious after being exposed to toxic gases accumulated inside the confined space.
In an attempt to rescue him, Harishchandra and Prakash entered the tank one after another. But they too collapsed.
When the trio did not come out of the tank, locals raised an alarm. On being informed, fire services personnel from Padmapur rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. The three were pulled out of the tank and immediately taken to Padmapur community health centre (CHC). However, doctors declared them brought dead.
Later, police reached the spot for investigation. IIC of Padmapur police station Dharanidhar Pradhan said the bodies were sent to Gunupur hospital for postmortem. The exact circumstances leading to the deaths will be established during investigation.
Gunupur MLA Satyajit Gamang and OPCC state secretary Ramakant Majhi visited Padmapur CHC and met the bereaved families. They urged the district administration to provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased.