Three die after inhaling lethal gases inside well

In a tragic incident, two private labourers and the owner of cloth dying unit died of suffocation while cleaning a 40-foot deep well without proper safety gear in the busy commercial area of Cottonpet.

Unnerving: Fire officials saidu00a0 that the bodies were lying one on top
of the other and the legs of the labourer, who went inside first, were
stuck in the slush at the bottom. Pic/Ramesh HS

Vijayanagar resident and owner of Raju Dyeing Works Gangaraju (38), labourer Chandru, a native of Andhra Pradesh, and another unidentified worker had gathered to clean the dry well.

At around noon, Chandru lashed a rope around his waist and got into the well, while the other worker watched. After he failed to respond, the worker also climbed into the well.

A short while later, Gangaraju came to check on the progress and after failing to get any response from the workers in the narrow well, he also climbed down and was overcome.

After the dyeing plant workers found Gangaraju missing and realised what happened, they informed the fire department, which reached the spot within minutes. However, rescue attempts failed as the well measures less than three-feet in diameter. A member of the rescue team was sent down, but came back confirming that all three were dead.

Chief Fire Officer, Ramesh, said that the well was about the 35-40 feet deep and its diameter was less than three feet.

"The bodies were lying one on top of the other and the legs of the labourer, who went inside first, was stuck in the slush at the bottom. It was a difficult operation to bring out the bodies, as there was no oxygen supply and space was constricted. Apparently, all the victims died by inhaling poisonous gas," he informed.