In a tragic incident, five workers lost their lives due to asphyxiation while cleaning a sludge tank at an agrotech company in Gujarat's Kutch district. The incident took place around 1 am on Wednesday as the workers were cleaning the effluent treatment plant, according to Kutch (East) Superintendent of Police, Sagar Bagmar. All deceased workers were in their 30s and have been identified as Sidharth Tiwari, Ajmat Khan, Ashish Gupta, Ashish Kumar, and Sanjay Thakur.
“When a worker entered a tank to remove sludge, he fell unconscious. Two other workers rushed inside the tank to rescue him, but they also fainted. Two more followed suit, and all five died,” Bagmar said.
Probe launched
Among the deceased, four workers are reported to be from outside Gujarat, while one hailed from Patan district. Senior administrative officials have arrived at the factory to investigate the exact cause of the deaths. It’s worth noting that several deaths have occurred in Kutch in the past due to negligence on the part of the labor department.
A case of accidental death has been registered at Kandla police station and a probe is underway, he said. A Kandla police station official said that the accident occurred at ‘Emami Agrotech’, a firm engaged in the production of edible oil and biodiesel.
(With inputs from inputs)
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