PUNE: Three workers died from suspected toxic gas inhalation inside a drainage tank at a mushroom farm in Belsar village in Pune on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Pintu Rajesh Prasad (23), Vyas Soham Kumar (22), and Gautam Ramsuran Kushwaha (36), all from Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, a worker entered the tank at 4:30 PM to clear a wastewater line and failed to emerge. When he failed to come out, two more workers entered the chamber one after another.
When none of the workers came out, locals rushed to the site and used an earthmover machine to break open the slab covering the tank to rescue them, a police officer said.
All three men were taken to Jejuri Rural Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead.
Preliminary reports indicates that the deaths were likely caused by suffocation in the confined space.
Jejuri police have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating.
(With inputs from PTI)