CHENNAI: Four contract workers were hospitalised after inhaling poisonous fumes while cleaning an underground waste storage tank at a factory near Sriperumbudur on Tuesday.
Two of them have been admitted to a private hospital in Porur and are in a critical condition. The police have begun an investigation and detained company representatives and contractors to probe whether necessary safety precautions were taken.
The Sriperumbudur police identified the workers as Manikandan, Madhanraj, Vignesh and Sridhar. They were engaged to work at United Industries Plastic Private Limited located at Vengadu village near Sriperumbudur.
The company manufactures automobile components, the police said. The factory stores industrial waste, including chemical residue and paint waste, in a large underground effluent tank, situated around 40 feet below ground level on the premises.
On Tuesday afternoon, three contract workers entered the tank to clean it. Within minutes, they reportedly experienced breathing difficulty. Hearing their cries for help, several co-workers rushed to the spot and attempted to rescue them.
During the process, another worker was also affected by the fumes. All the four were taken to the Sriperumbudur Government Hospital and two of them were later shifted to a private hospital in Porur as their condition deteriorated.