Pune: Two Workers Killed, Three Injured In CO₂ Leak During Maintenance At Schaeffler India Ltd's Talegaon MIDC Factory

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Two workers died, and three others were injured after carbon dioxide leaked from a firefighting system during maintenance work at Schaeffler India Ltd's industrial unit in the Talegaon MIDC area on Tuesday afternoon.

The deceased have been identified as Gaurishankar Sharma (38), a resident of Ambi village in Maval tehsil, and Vaibhav Thorat (24) from Chikhali in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The injured include two company employees and one worker from the maintenance contractor. All three were admitted to a nearby hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.

According to police, the incident occurred around 12.30 pm when a team from a private agency was carrying out routine servicing of the plant's firefighting system at Schaeffler India Ltd. During the operation, a safety device connected to a carbon dioxide cylinder was allegedly removed or malfunctioned, causing a sudden release of gas inside the maintenance area.

Preliminary investigations suggest that Sharma and Thorat were exposed to a high concentration of carbon dioxide and suffocated. The three other workers managed to escape the immediate area but later complained of breathing difficulties and required medical treatment.

Senior Police Inspector Santosh Patil of Talegaon MIDC Police Station said an accidental death report (ADR) has been registered and further investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the incident.

Police said the gas leak occurred inside a dedicated room housing the firefighting equipment. Since the area has restricted access, the incident did not affect other employees working in the manufacturing unit, and routine operations at the facility continued.

Investigators said the maintenance work had been assigned to trained personnel, and initial findings indicate that the incident was accidental. Authorities are examining the sequence of events and safety procedures followed during the servicing work.

The company had not released an official statement till late evening on Tuesday. However, sources said senior officials at Schaeffler India's headquarters in Germany had been informed about the incident and were closely monitoring the situation. The company is also said to be extending support to the injured workers and the families of the deceased.

The Schaeffler India Ltd Talegaon facility, established in 2001, manufactures rolling bearings and precision-engineered components used in the automotive, motorcycle, machine tool, material handling and other industrial sectors.