Bahraich , Five workers died allegedly after inhaling smoke emanating from a dryer machine that malfunctioned at a rice mill here on Friday, officials said. Malfunctioning dryer at rice mill in UP: Five workers die after inhaling smoke Three other workers, who fainted after inhaling the smoke, were rushed to the district hospital. District Magistrate Monika Rani said the “workers were working on paddy drying when smoke emanated from the machine, leading to the deaths of five workers.” The district administration has formed a joint investigation team to probe the incident. Preliminary probe suggested that the dryer machine developed a technical snag and began emitting smoke, which the workers inhaled, leading to their suffocation, a senior official told PTI. According to Rajgarhia Rice Mill director Vinod Agarwal, the dryer is a fully automated plant and used to remove moisture from paddy through hot air generated by steam. Agarwal stated that there was no scope of smoke or fire in the machine. However, around 5 am, a worker reportedly saw smoke inside the dryer. The exact …