Kalyan: At least three labourers died of toxic fumes and five were left unconscious while they were cleaning a Sewage Treatment Plant at Pride Presidency Luxuries Complex in Thane. Two local contractors have been arrested on the charge of negligence. The incident came to light late night on Thursday. The fire department said that the three persons died due to suffocation. The rescued workers were admitted at a Thane hospital. The workers had entered the STP without safety gear.
The deceased have been identified as Amit Puhal (20), Aman Badal (21) and Ajay Bumbak (24); the injured are Vijendra Hatwal (25), Manjjit Vedya (25), Jasbir Puhal (24), Rumal Puhal (30), and Ajay Puhal (21). All of them belonged to Haryana. The two contractors, Vaibhav Patil and Jitendra Khair, who hired them on daily wages to clean the tank, have been arrested.
The STP was constructed by the builder but is operated by the society and its annual maintenance work is assigned to Safetreat Consultant. The cleaning work was later assigned to private contractors.
