Chhattisgarh: Five suffocate to death at brick kiln, one hospitalised

Five workers died of asphyxiation and another took ill after inhaling smoke at a brick kiln in Chhattisgarhs Mahasamund district officials said on WednesdayThe district collector has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident that took place at Gadhphuljhar village under Basna police station limits they saidChief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief over the deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceasedAs per preliminary investigation six workers set an assembled pile of dried mud bricks for heating on Tuesday night and slept atop it said Kumari Chandrakar station house officer SHO of Basna police stationWhen other workers reached the spot this morning and found them unconscious they alerted the police she said The six workers were shifted to a local hospital where five of them were declared dead she saidThe sixth person was later referred to capital Raipur for treatment she saidAccording to doctors the five died due to suffocation but the exact cause of the death will be known after their postmortem she saidPolice have identified the deceased as Ganga Ram Bisi 55 Dasrath Bisi 30 Sona Chand Bhoi 40 Varun Bariha 24 and Janak Ram Bariha 30Also Read Mumbai NCB raids in Kharghar drugs cash and gold seized one heldA case has been registered and further probe is underway she addedMeanwhile the district administration and mining officials have also reached the spot to take stock of the incidentMahasamund Collector Nilesh Kumar Kshirsagar has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident an official statement saidThe CM has directed officials to provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and medical aid to the hospitalised brick kiln worker it saidIncharge Mining Officer Mahasamund Umesh Bhargav said his department has also launched a probe in connection with the operation of the kilnNo official permission was sought by Kunjbihari Pade who was operating the kiln in the village However Pade comes from the Kumhar community that traditionally made pottery and there are certain relaxations for the community concerned in making bricks But it is mandatory for everyone to comply with standard safety measures and rules and regulations Bhargav addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever