3 held for Erode SIPCOT gas leak deaths

Seven workers of a textile dyeing unit near Perundurai died by asphyxiation after inhaling toxic gas in a tank on Tuesday.

March 19, 2014 01:24 pm | Updated May 19, 2016 09:48 am IST - Erode

The tank at the dyeing unit near SIPCOT at Perundurai where seven workers died due to suffocation on Tuesday. Photo: M. Govarthan

The tank at the dyeing unit near SIPCOT at Perundurai where seven workers died due to suffocation on Tuesday. Photo: M. Govarthan

Three persons, including the manager of a textile dyeing unit near Perundurai, have been arrested in connection with the deaths of seven workers by asphyxiation after inhaling toxic gas in a tank on Tuesday.

The others arrested include a man in charge of pollution control and a labour welfare officer, police said, adding all were held late last night.

They said bodies of five workers were handed over to the next of kin on Tuesday, while two others, hailing from Nepal, were cremated in Erode.

Meanwhile pollution control board officials said power connection to the factory had been cut and the unit would be sealed, pending further investigations.

The tragedy occurred when a group of workers were engaged in repairing a motor near the tank at the factory in SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, 25 km from Erode.

Initially, two workers accidentally fell into the tank. Several other colleagues jumped into the tank to rescue them.

However, many of them fainted after inhaling the toxic gas. Seven of them, in the age group of 21-35, died on the spot while nine others were rescued by fellow workers and fire and rescue service personnel.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.