3 inhale poisonous fumes while cleaning well, drown

Chandrapur, May 10 (UNI) In an unfortunate incident, three labourers, hired to clean a well located in Vidya Nagar colony of Bramhapuri in the district, inhaled poisonous fumes emanating from the well and drowned.

Talking about the incident, Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Mandar Vaidya told UNI that the incident took place at around 0900 hrs. The well, located in the courtyard of Prashant Karade, began emanating foul smell after a cat fell and drowned in it. To clean the well, Karade hired 4 labourers, who drained out the water by using a pump.

Later, one of them, Daulat Pradhan, descended into the well to clean the sludge. After a while, hearing no word from him, the second labourer, Raju Gotephode, descended into it. Then, the third one, Kishor Raut, followed them. Karade got suspicious when all three failed to show up. He asked the fourth one, Vilas Namdeo, to check them. Halfway into his descent, Namdeo smelled poisonous gas and soon came out of the well, Vaidya said, adding, by the time, the ground water had started filling up the well and it reached almost 8 ft, drowning the three unconscious labourers.

On receiving the information, special squads from WCL Taradi and Nagpur Municipal Corporation's Fire Brigade reached the spot and fished out the three bodies.

Brahmapuri police have registered a case of accidental death.

UNI XR SSS SY VC1740