TIRUPPUR: Two migrant workers died due to suffocation after entering a process tank at a private papaya processing plant near Udumalaipet, Tiruppur, on Tuesday.
The deceased were identified as Arun Camengo (23) and Rohit Dikil (24) from Odisha. They were residing in Anthiyur in Udumalaipet.
According to police sources, a privately owned papaya plant is operating in Sadaiyapalayam village. Papaya is processed and exported abroad for bakery products from this plant and both the deceased were working here.
The police added that, on Tuesday, after the interval, Arun entered the process tank first. Allegedly, he fainted inside the tank, and to save him, Rohit also entered the tank.
Later, Rohit also fainted. Shocked by this, fellow workers informed the Udumalaipet police and fire station. The police and firefighters rushed to the spot, rescued them and admitted them at the Udumalaipet GH. The doctors said that they were brought dead.
Police suspect that both of them may have died of suffocation because they worked without any protective equipment.
T Namasivayam, Deputy Superintend of Police, Udumalaipet, said, “ The papaya is processed in that tank and they will be sent to another tank through process machines. The tank might be about 5 to 8 feet deep and that’s where all the workers worked ".
" We suspect that there might have been a gas leak. The truth will be known only after the autopsy report. Action will be taken against the plant in-charge Hariharan as further investigations are underway.”