A tragic workplace accident has shocked Belesar village in Purandar taluka of Pune district after three workers died while cleaning a drainage tank at a mushroom processing unit on Saturday evening.
The workers reportedly entered a closed drainage tank at Wada Agro Mushroom Company and never came out alive.
Chain reaction inside the tank leads to tragedy
According to Jejuri police, the incident took place around 4:30 pm. One worker entered the drainage tank for cleaning work but did not respond after some time. When he failed to come out, a second worker went inside to check on him.
Moments later, a third worker also entered the tank in an attempt to rescue the others. Unfortunately, none of the three managed to return.
The deceased have been identified as Pintu Rajesh Prasa, 23, and Vyas Oham Kumar, 22, both from Khoraram and Navtam villages in Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh. The third victim is Gautam Ramsuran Kushwah, 36, from Mednapur in Devrai district, Uttar Pradesh.
Rescue efforts, suspected toxic gas and police probe
When the workers did not respond, panic spread among others present at the site. Local workers and villagers rushed to help and used JCB machine to break open concrete slab covering the drainage tank.
All three men were pulled out and immediately taken to Jejuri Rural Hospital. Doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Preliminary findings suggest that toxic gas may have accumulated inside closed tank. Police believe poor ventilation and heat could have led to suffocation causing the workers to lose consciousness and die inside.
Assistant police inspector Deepak Waghchaoure of Jejuri police station confirmed that an accidental death case has been registered. He said the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.
He also added that a detailed investigation is underway to check whether proper safety measures were followed at the mushroom processing unit and if any negligence occurred.