Surat Tragedy: Four Workers Die After Inhaling Toxic Fumes While Cleaning Septic Tank

Four workers died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a septic tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Gujarat's Surat city on Sunday morning, police said.

While asphyxiation is likely the primary cause of death, the exact cause will be confirmed by the postmortem report, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-1) Alok Kumar said.

The incident occurred at a septic tank that collects waste generated during the jewellery cleaning process in the Ashwini Kumar area, the official said.

The facility's septic tank undergoes cleaning and maintenance every two months.

On Sunday morning, four individuals — a supervisor and three labourers — entered the tank for maintenance work. They collapsed due to the effects of poisonous gas and all four died, the official said.

"We are examining whose negligence led to the incident, as preliminary investigations indicate that safety protocols were not followed. Nevertheless, we will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter," he said.

The supervisor had reportedly called the fire department before entering the tank. Preliminary findings indicate that the workers were not equipped with any safety gear, the DCP said.

The absence of protective equipment is among the aspects being examined as part of the investigation.

Soon after the incident was reported, the fire brigade rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation. The victims were pulled out of the tank and shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

"As of now, we are registering a case of accidental death. We will also analyse CCTV footage to determine what protocols should have been in place versus what was actually implemented, and subsequently fix responsibility," the DCP said.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)