BMC worker chokes to death, four injured inside water chamber

A civic worker died and four were injured after inhaling poisonous gases inside a water pipeline chamber at Nana Chowk. Such a mishap is unheard as noxious fumes are released by sewage, not drinking water.

The employees from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Byculla workshop were trying to ascertain the cause for poor water supply to Malabar Hill at the time of the accident around midnight on Saturday.

Officials said the BMC had stopped using the pipeline after it built a water tunnel for supply to Malabar Hill, home to several high-profile people. The workers were to open a valve to release water through the pipeline.

Of the five men, two tried to enter the 12-foot-deep chamber. As they opened the cover, they lost unconsciousness and fell into the pit. The other three entered the chamber to help their colleagues, but they too passed out.

The fire brigade, who were perhaps alerted by passersby, rushed the five to civic-run Nair hospital where one of them, identified as Rakesh Nijap, 47, was declared dead before admission. Nijap is survived by his wife and two sons. Samples have been sent for chemical analysis to know the exact nature of gases that caused the fatality, said Dr Shailesh Mohite, head of the forensic department.

The others – Umesh Pawar, Shantaram Bhakte, Suresh Pawar and Balasaheb Bhowre – are in a stable condition, said doctors.

"We are not sure of the exact reason. There are two possibilities. Either toxic gases from the nearby drainage pipeline entered the chamber or chlorine [used to purify water] had got accumulated there," said a senior official from BMC's water department. Water samples from the spot have been sent for testing, added the official.

RARE MISHAP

• The mishap is rare as noxious fumes are mostly released by sewage not drinking water
   
• Accumulation of chlorine or leakage of poisonous gases from a nearby drain suspected