Tamil Nadu: Two Workers Die While Cleaning Septic Tank

Periyasamy was declared dead by the first aid crew while Dhakshinamurthy succumbed to the hospital.

A manhole (Image for representation/Pixabay)

Chennai: Two workers were asphyxiated to death while they were involved in cleaning a septic tank in a gated complex in Perungudi on Wednesday night. The duo was working at a private cleaning company in Perungudi. 

This was the second sewer death incident in Chennai in a week.

According to a report on Times of India, the deceased were identified as P Periyasamy (38) and D Dhaskhinamurthy (38), both from Pallikaranai. The duo on Wednesday went to the gated community with over 10,000 houses for clearing the sewage in Kamaraj Nagar of Perungudi.

The private company in which the duo was working had been providing the service to clean the sewers for the apartment for the past five years.

A police officer said, two workers started cleaning the septic tanks by 1 pm on Wednesday and by 6.30 pm they opened another tank for cleaning. 

Later, Periyasamy entered the tank without any safety gear and suddenly inhaled the noxious gases. He then collapsed inside the tank. After this, Dhakshinamurthy who did not hear Periyasamy's response too entered the tank to rescue him. However, he fainted inside the tank. 

Following this, the supervisor informed the police and the fire personnel who rushed to the spot and recovered the workers from the drains.

Periyasamy was declared dead by the first aid crew while Dhakshinamurthy succumbed to the hospital.

The Thoraipakkam police registered a case under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavenger and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The police then arrest S Krishnan, the manager of the apartment and Saravanan, the supervisor of the private cleaning firm.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a private contract employee of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board died of asphyxiation after he inhaled poisonous gases while opening an underground manhole in Madhavaram.