A 45-year-old man died and another was hospitalised after they inhaled toxic fumes when they entered a septic tank to clean it at Madipakkam on Friday afternoon.
Police sources said residents of an apartment complex on Kubera Nagar Ninth Cross Street had hired the services of a sewage tank cleaner through a popular classifieds website. Kumar, an agent, contacted the residents and sent two men Rajendran and Kumar to clean the septic tank. Acording to the policemen, the sewage was pumped out first, while the sludge was left in the bottom of the tank. When Rajendran entered the tank to remove it, he inhaled toxic fumes, collapsed and lost consciousness.
Kumar jumped into the tank in an attempt to rescue Rajendran. Residents pulled the two men out and they were rushed to Government Royapettah Hospital, where Rajendran, a native on Nandambakkam, was pronounced dead on arrival. Kumar is out of danger, police added.Such instances of men losing their lives after inhaling poisonous fumes is not uncommon in the southern suburbs of Chennai as unlike the city limits, nearly all households have septic tanks.
