MUMBAI: Five workers died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a septic tank in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, police said on Friday.
Another worker accompanying them was in serious condition and admitted to a hospital in the district, around 500km from Mumbai, an official said.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening in the Bhaucha Tanda area under the jurisdiction of Sonpeth Police Station, he said.
According to the official, six labourers entered the septic tank located on a farm on Thursday afternoon. While cleaning the tank, they started feeling suffocated and fell unwell.
All of them were rushed to a nearby hospital, where five of the workers were declared dead on arrival, he said. An accidental death case was registered at the Sonpeth police station and a probe was underway, said the official.
In July 2022, the government informed the Lok Sabha that 188 people had died while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks since 2019.