Four workers died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Surat on Sunday morning, police said.
The incident took place in the Ashwini Kumar area, where the septic tank collects waste generated during the jewellery cleaning process. The tank is reportedly cleaned and maintained every two months.
According to police, the victims, a supervisor and three labourers , entered the tank in the morning and collapsed after being exposed to poisonous gas.
“While asphyxiation is likely the primary cause of their death, the exact cause will be confirmed by the postmortem report,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-1, Alok Kumar said.
Preliminary investigations suggest that safety protocols were not followed. The supervisor had reportedly called the fire department before entering the tank, but none of the four workers were equipped with safety gear.
“We are examining whose negligence led to the incident, as preliminary investigations indicate that safety protocols were not followed. Nevertheless, we will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter,” the DCP said.
Following the incident, fire brigade personnel rushed to the site, rescued the workers from the tank and shifted them to a hospital, where doctors declared all four dead.
“As of now, we are registering a case of accidental death. We will also analyse CCTV footage to determine what protocols should have been in place versus what was actually implemented, and subsequently fix responsibility,” the DCP said.
(With inputs from PTI)