3 workers die while cleaning septic tank in Govandi building

THE POLICE HAVE REGISTERED A CASE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH, BUT SAID THEY ARE PROBING IF IT WAS A CASE OF CAUSING DEATH BY NEGLIGENCE

MUMBAI: A contractor and two workers suffocated to death on Monday after inhaling toxic gas, while cleaning the septic tank of a residential building in Govandi with allegedly no safety equipment

According to Govandi police, the victims are Vishwajeet Bebnath,32, a private contractor and a resident of Kurla; Santosh Prabhakar Kalsekar,45, a resident of Chembur; and Govind Sangram Chortiya, 34, a resident of Kurla The police have registered a case of accidental death, but said they are probing if it was a case of death caused by negligence

The incident happened at Morya Building, a slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) project near Govandi police station

According to the police, Bebnath was the first to enter the tank around 1130am, followed by Kalsekar and Chortiya After they did not come out for an hour, the residents informed the fire brigade and the police The fire brigade rushed to the spot, brought out the three men and rushed them to the nearby Shatabdi Hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival

“The three entered the main tank, which is around eight to nine feet deep The fire brigade personnel checked oxygen levels in the tank, which were very low,” said Shashikumar Mina, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6 “We are waiting for a postmortem report, but prima facie it appears that they inhaled poisonous gases,” he added

Police sources said that they are probing who had hired the three and if safety measures were violated

Assistant commissioner of M-east Ward, Sudhanshu Dwivedi, said, “BMC provided disaster response immediately The Mumbai fire brigade rushed to the spot to rescue the workers trapped in the septic tank However, this was a private building, which engaged a private contractor for the work This contractor supplied the labour for the work, without involving BMC So the civic body’s interference and responsibility is limited”

In May this year, three sewage workers suffocated to death after they inhaled toxic methane gas, while cleaning a septic tank in a Nalla Sopara residential building

Eight people, including the builder, supervisor of the sewage workers and the contractor who hired the supervisor had been booked by the police in connection with the incident, for negligence