HYDERABAD: Working in the brutal heat, the labourers who died on Wednesday were parched for water. They had lime soda before going in to work and sent their colleague Mahesh to fetch some drinking water. But they died before Mahesh could return. Mahesh recollected how his co-workers first tried to enter the pipeline through a different chamber. “They couldn’t because it was stinking so bad,” he said.
The supervisor then advised them to enter through a different chamber, that resulted in their death. “They were pulled out with great difficulty, by tying towel to their hands. One of their bodies was at about 5-feet deep inside the chamber,” said Mahesh. “I also felt breathless while trying to enter the chamber. So, I tied a towel and peeped inside to find Vijay lying unconscious.”
“With the help of the others, I tied another towel to his hand and pulled him out. Santosh was lying about five-feet inside the open place of the chamber. We pulled him out the same way. But, they were dead by then,” added Mahesh. “It all happened within minutes,” recounted Chanti, who sells lime soda in a pushcart near the stadium. He witnessed the entire incident. “Once the chamber was opened, two persons entered without even waiting for a minute. And within five minutes, they were found unconscious,” said Chanti.