The brother of one of the three workers who died after allegedly inhaling toxic gas inside a tank in a Delhi factory on Saturday blamed negligence and lack of safety equipment as the reason for the tragedy.
The Delhi Fire Service received an emergency call from the factory at 12.03 pm, saying three people were trapped in a tank. The men allegedly died within minutes of entering the tank, according to an earlier HT report. The first crews reached the sometime around 12:40-12:45 pm.
The three men, identified as Arun Singh, 38, Sandeep Paleram, 32, and Chand, 42, had stepped inside the septic tank at a factory in outer Delhi’s Mundka area to clean it.
Arun’s elder brother Narendra recounted how the sequence of events took place, saying the workers went in “one after another” and collapsed, according to ANI news agency. He added that one worker had gone in first, while the other two went to save him and lost their lives.
“I learned that they were poisoned by gas inside the tank…they are saying that the first person went in, then he was overcome by gas and collapsed inside. Another went to rescue him and also collapsed inside. Then a third went to rescue them and got stuck inside as well. It happened one after another,” Narendra told ANI, adding that the police had not let anyone enter the site.
The deceased’s brother also blamed the factory owner for the deaths, claiming lack of safety equipments. “If we talk about fault, it lies with the factory owner… they didn’t provide any equipment…I have so many responsibilities, but I am unemployed myself,” Narendra said. He added that the workers had first been hired to pump out water but were later forced to remove solid waste. Narendra said that his brother had not allowed him to work owing to his health issues. “He was supporting his family and two children as well as my family and my three kids,” he added.
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‘Took masks…looked like tank hadn’t been opened for years’
A senior Delhi Fire Service officer said the the first fire truck was stuck in a traffic jam, following which a different vehicle and crew was sent from another location.
The firemen who were at the site said at 1.30 pm that the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) must be informed, the senior DFS officer said. The official said that the personnel were not able to descend into the tank initially.
“We took masks and ropes. We somehow managed to send a fireman inside who then pulled out the three bodies lying in sewage water,” the officer said, adding that ropes were also tied to the three bodies to pull them out. “…It looked like the tank had not been opened for months or maybe years,” the DFS officer said.
The police registered an FIR in the matter, and arrested three individuals in connection with the incident. Among those held are factory owner Suraj Marwah, 50, contractor Neeraj, 35, and factory employee Jayant Singh.
(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha)
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