Two labourers die of asphyxiation while cleaning tank

ROHTAK :Two migrant labourers from Bihar died of asphyxiation while cleaning a petroleum tank at a factory in Rohtak’s Sampla township on Friday. The deceased have been identified as Rohit Kumar, 19, and Ranjeet Kumar, 22, both residents of Chhapra city in Bihar. Another worker Joginder Kumar of Bihar’s Muzzafarpur was admitted at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak, where he received treatment but was said to be missing later.

Police said the labourers worked at Shiva Petroleum factory in Hasangarh village of Rohtak. The factory has 13 workers and makes mobil oil. On Friday, Rohit went down to clean an empty petroleum tank. When he did not return for a long time, Ranjeet went down to check on him. When he, too, did not return nor responded to other workers’ calls, Joginder went down the tank, and found both workers lying unconscious. He shouted for help, following which, other workers managed to pull him out immediately, though he too went unconscious.

The other workers then used ropes to pull out the other two labourers, and rushed them to the PGIMS where doctors pronounced Rohit and Ranjeet dead during treatment.

Inspector Kulbir Singh, SHO of Sampla police station, said they have handed the bodies of the deceased to their families after postmortem. He said the third labourer, Joginder, went missing from PGIMS after getting primary treatment.

“We have launched a search to find Joginder. We suspect that he could have been taken away by the factory owner so he could not register his statement. Once we find him, we will know whether the factory owner followed required protocol and provided safety gears to the labourers for cleaning the tank,” he said.

The SHO said they have registered a case of negligence against the factory owner on statements received from the family members of the deceased. “We will further add sections in the FIR once we get the statement from the missing laborer as well,” the SHO said.