4 workers asphyxiated while cleaning water tank

One labourer survives; workers had allegedly inhaled poisonous fumes; police say safety gear missing

NEW DELHI 15/07/2017: The spot where four people died as they inhaled toxic gases inside the tank while cleaning at ghitorni,in New Delhi on Saturday . Photo Sandeep Saxena

Four daily wage labourers died in south Delhi’s Ghitorni on Saturday morning after inhaling poisonous fumes while trying to clean a water harvesting tank here.

The incident was reported around 10.30 a.m. when five labourers attempted to clean the 10-foot-deep tank located in an under-construction building, owned by one J.K. Mehta, in a residential area full of paying guest accommodations. While Swarn Singh (45), Deepu Dubey (28), Anil (23), and Balwinder Singh (32) lost their lives, Jaspal Singh managed to survive.

Forensic team called in

A Forensic Science Laboratory team was called to inspect the spot and take samples from the tank.

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The labourers, residents of Chhatarpur, were rushed to Fortis, AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. While four of them were declared brought dead, Jaspal was later discharged from Fortis Hospital.

According to Jaspal, the five men had gone to the location in his father’s [Swarn Singh] car. “Anil went into the tank first after we opened it and lost consciousness. Balvinder went in to help him, but he too fell unconscious. Deepu went in next. When he too did not respond, my father Swarn Singh went in with a rope. I went in after he too lost consciousness inside the tank,” said Jaspal, adding that he didn’t remember what happened after that.

The police were informed by Deepak, who lives in the adjacent building. A senior police officer said that the labourers were not wearing any safety gear. “It’s an unfortunate incident, but none of them were wearing oxygen masks or gloves. Had they waited for 10-15 minutes before stepping in, they could have been saved as the gases would have been diluted by then,” said the officer, adding that the fumes were suspected to be a combination of phosgene and ammonia.

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‘He had never cleaned a water tank before’

 

Blockage in drain

When asked why they didn’t use any safety gear or take precautions, Jaspal said, “We clean borewells and water tanks every day. We never saw anything like this before.”

The officer told the reporter that Swarn Singh, the contractor, was called by one Niranjan, who owns several flats near the under-construction building. “The water harvesting tank is connected to a drain located 50 meters away. It collects waste water from houses. The labourers were called in after people started facing blockages,” he said.

The officer added that the tank was constructed over two years ago when the under-construction building didn’t exist. “When the building came into being, the drain was connected to the tank. As a result, it collected garbage and water both,” he said.

An FIR has been registered against Mr. Mehta, his staff and the builder under Sections 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 34 common intention) of the IPC.