THOOTHUKUDI: Two persons died after allegedly inhaling poisonous gases while cleaning a well in a house near Thoothukudi on Sunday.
Sources said, K Ganesan (61) from Nehru Colony at Thalamuthu Nagar had a well in his house, which was left unused for a long time. He along with B Marimuthu (36) from Arumuganeri decided to deep clean the well. They attempted to do so by draining the water inside using a motor. Ganesan then went down into the well. After a while, as he did not respond, Marimuthu also scaled down the well. However, neither of them came outside for a long time.
Two persons from the area, Pavithran and Jesuraj decided to go inside the well to check on them, but they fainted near the well after inhaling the poisonous gas. The locals rescued them and took them to Thoothukudi government hospital.
Upon receiving information, fire and rescue service personnel reached the spot and retrieved Ganesan and Marimuthu from the well. However, they were found to be dead. Thalamuthu Nagar police sent the bodies for postmortem. Further investigation is under way.