3 workers suffocate to death while cleaning Lajpat Nagar sewer

Three labourers were killed and one more was left battling for life on Sunday after they inhaled poisonous gases in a manhole in southeast Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area. The men had entered the manhole at the Jal Vihar Road to clean a sewer.

According to the police, the incident took place around 11.30am. Two of the men had jumped in to save the first labourer to enter the manhole. They all suffocated to death. The fourth one managed to escape just moments before falling unconscious, the police said.

The incident has taken place less than a month after a similar tragedy claimed four lives in south Delhi's Ghitorni area, where the labourers had gone to clean a private septic tank. Just like the Ghitorni incident, this time as well, the victims were not wearing any protective gear, police and witnesses said.

The three victims were identified as Joginder, 32, Annu, 28, and a yet to be identified 25-year-old man. All three of them were declared dead on arrival at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Romil Baaniya said.

"The three men died after being exposed to obnoxious gases. Accordingly, we have taken legal action and registered a case under Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," he said.

The men had been hired by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). "When the first labourer did not return after a few minutes, another worker jumped in to check. When he did not return as well, a third worker also went inside.

More than an hour later, around 1.15pm, their private contractor came to assess the situation and sent in the fourth worker, Rajesh, to check the status. To ensure his safety, however, he was tied with a rope. "When he started falling unconscious as well, they pulled him back. By that time, our team had reached the spot," a senior police officer said.

All the men were then pulled out and rushed to hospitals. Their bodies were later sent for post-mortem and their families were informed.

HIRED BY JAL BOARD

• The men had been hired by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). “When the first labourer did not return after a few minutes, another worker jumped in to check. When he did not return as well, a third worker also went inside.
   
• More than an hour later, around 1.15pm, their private contractor came to assess the situation and sent in the fourth worker, Rajesh, to check the status. To ensure his safety, however, he was tied with a rope.