Five drown in Kalyan; well full of toxic fumes, claim residents
MUMBAI: Five people drowned in a private well in Kalyan (East) on Thursday. The dead include two firemen who had jumped in to rescue the other three victims. Fire officials said they likely suffocated as the well is near a drain, and could have been full of toxic fumes from polluted water. Around 2pm on Thursday, a sanitation worker, Kamlesh Yadav, 35, entered the well to clean it after he was engaged by Rahul Goswani, 32, on whose property the well is situated.
When Yadav did not return for more than an hour, Rahul Goswami jumped in to rescue him. Within minutes, his father, Gunwant Goswami, 56, also jumped in.
When all three men did not surface, the family called up the fire department around 3pm, said Sudhakar Kulkarni, a senior fire officer.
“When our firemen reached the spot, they were told there may be electric current inside the well from the live wires from the poles next to it,” said Kulkarni, adding that the power supply in the area was first disconnected before the two firemen, who died, entered the well using a ladder.
“The water was black and we could not spot the body, so we decided to send in two men.” However, the firemen who entered the well did not wear masks. Pramod Waghchoure, 44 and Anant Shelar, 48, jumped in without protection and died, officials said.
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