BENGALURU: Fire and Emergency Services and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel continued the search operation till late on Friday night to retrieve the bodies of two outsourced workers of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), who fell into a 40-foot-deep sewage treatment plant (STP) tank at Balegere under the Varthur police station limits on Thursday evening.
A senior police officer said the rescue operation was being severely hampered by poisonous gases inside the tank and high water pressure. Officials have been instructed to expedite the operation and retrieve the bodies.
Rescue teams are filling the tank with oxygen to remove the toxic gases. “As soon as the oxygen level is increased and the toxic gases are cleared, the NDRF team will enter the tank and continue the search operation,” the officer said.
The officer added that the incident occurred around 6 pm on Thursday when three workers entered into the over 40-foot-deep sewage treatment tank, known as the pumping wet well, to carry out repair work. One of the workers, Karthik, managed to come out using a rope and alerted officials, while Akilan and Akhilesh drowned in the water.
Karthik was rushed to a nearby hospital and is undergoing treatment.