Two days after the death of a worker while cleaning a sewer pipeline was reported in Madhavaram, two more private contract workers died allegedly of asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank located in a gated community in Perungudi.
The mishap occurred on Wednesday night. The victims have been identified as D. Dhakshinamurthy, 38, and P. Periasamy, 38, of Pallikaranai. They were employed by a private operator in Thoraipakkam to clean septic tanks located in the gated community in Kamaraj Nagar.
At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the duo started cleaning the septic tanks in each block and around 6 p.m., they opened a tank to clean and intended to wrap up their work with that one.
Police said on opening a 20-foot-deep tank, Periyasamy first entered to clean it but fainted after inhaling the obnoxious gas. Dhakshinamurthy followed him without noticing that Periyasamy had already fallen unconscious and fainted.
On receipt of information, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot and pulled them both out. While Periyasamy was declared dead by the ambulance staff, Dhakshinamurthy died at a private hospital later without responding to treatment.
The Thoraipakkam police have registered a case under sections 304-A (causing death due to negligence) and also Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavenger and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. Police arrested S. Krishnan, 61, manager of the apartment and S. Saravanan, 44, the supervisor of the private cleaning operator.
Meanwhile, another sanitary worker, Ravikumar, died at Government Stanley Hospital on Thursday without responding to the treatment. He was working with Nelson, 26, a private contract employee who died of asphyxiation in Madhavaram on Tuesday evening.
