BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic incident, two workers allegedly died of asphyxiation inside a septic tank at a newly constructed house in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
The deceased identified as Suman (23) and Saffique (26) were natives of West Bengal and had arrived in the city about four days back.
Police sources said Saffique’s father had taken the contract to construct the house where the incident took
place in Sisupalgarh’s Raghunath Nagar under Dhauli police station limits.
The duo had stepped into the septic tank to remove the support beams when they became unconscious. The tank has two manholes and Suman and Saffique went in through one of them. However, when there was no response from the two after a while, locals present at the spot informed the Odisha Fire and Emergency Service. Firefighters rushed to the spot and removed the cover of one of the manholes to ensure there was adequate oxygen supply in the septic tank.
As per the fire personnel, the septic tank is about 8 ft to 10 feet deep and the duo went inside using the support beams. Both Suman and Saffique were taken out from the septic tank and rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared them dead. “The incident took place after 12 pm. Initial investigation suggests the duo died of suffocation. Further probe is on,” said an officer of Dhauli police station. Reports of such deaths in septic tanks have come in the past too.
In July 2021, three workers reportedly died after they entered a newly-constructed septic tank through a manhole in Ganjam district. Similarly, two labourers perished due to suffocation while cleaning a sewerage tank in Bhubaneswar the same year.