CUDDALORE: In a shocking incident near Srimushnam, three men died while attempting to remove scaffolding from a newly constructed septic tank. The victims have been identified as Krishnamoorthy (40) of Manjalai village who was a carpenter, Sakthivel (22) of Thalaivasal, and Balachandran (32) of Kanur, who worked as a mason.
Krishnamoorthy’s family members raised an alarm as three of them did not emerge from the tank after a while. Villagers went to check on them and sensed an odd smell emanating from the tank. The information was immediately passed to the Srimushnam police station and Sethiyathopu fire station.
A team of fire and rescue personnel rushed to the site, but all three had already succumbed to the poisonous gas. The bodies were later sent to the government hospital in Srimushnam for postmortem.
Following an inspection at the site, the Cuddalore district superintendent of police R Rajaram revealed that the septic tank was entirely closed after the roof was constructed. This led to the formation of poisonous gas and the subsequent deaths of the individuals. The authorities have urged the public to exercise caution while working in enclosed spaces.