CHENNAI: A 28-year-old man allegedly asphyxiated to death at an apartment complex in Avadi, while recycling sewage water on Thursday. Another man, who helped him, is critical. The deceased was identified as Muthu Kumar from Muthapudupet, who worked as a machine operator in a private company that recycles sewage from apartment complexes. The recycled water is used to water plants and flush toilets, said the police.
Gunsekaran, who is undergoing treatment at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, is the manager of the company. “At around 10 am on Thursday, they were involved in recycling the sewage. The secretary of the apartment left after work started,” said inspector Muthuramalaingam, Avadi police. The police added that the secretary returned at around 10.30 am and found Gunasekaran lying unconscious inside the septic tank while Muthu was nowhere to be seen. His body was retrieved from the tank later.
The apartment complex at Ashok Niranjan Nagar in Paruthipattu has over 120 houses. The police said the duo is hired every month for Rs 15,000. Their work does not usually entail entering the septic tank as the whole process is done using machines. “The well is 20-feet deep and the mouth is three-feet wide and had sewage up to 1.5 feet. We suspect Muthu entered the tank after the machine developed a glitch. Gunasekaran must have gone after Muthu fainted,” said police.
Man dies in segregation unit
A 53-year-old man working at a garbage segregation unit in Madhavaram died allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes on Wednesday evening. Waste from North Chennai is handled by a private contractor for the corporation. The deceased, identified as Thiruvenkadam, was a contract employee of the company.
Thiruvenkadam was on medical leave for 20 days and returned only on Wednesday. While the cause of death is yet to be ascertained, police suspect he died either after inhaling toxic fumes or due to a pre-existing medical condition. Though he was rushed to hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. The viscera has been sent to the lab for an investigation. Madhavaram police registered a case.