Five workers dead after inhaling toxic fumes from sludge tank at Kutch Agrotech

Police said the lack of any safety equipment, including breathing apparatus or rope harness to pull up a worker in danger, was the cause behind the death.

Supervisor Siddharth Tiwari was the first of the five workers to lose his life after he fell into the sludge tank a few minutes after falling unconscious by toxic gases emanating from the vessel. The incident took place between 12.30 am and 1 am on October 16 when the men were cleaning the effluent plant of Emami Agrotech.

Inspector AM Vala of Kandla police said, “Supervisor Tiwari and his helpers were attempting to clean the tank but something was clogging the outlet. When Tiwari went to the top of the tank and tried to look inside, he was hit by the toxic gases and fell down.”

Hearing his cries, two other men rushed in but also fell inside the tank. Further, two men who attempted to save the three victims fell inside the tank as well.

“All five men lost their lives in the incident,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Sagar Bagmar of Kutch (East) Police while confirming that no safety equipment was found on the deceased or in the vicinity of the site of the incident.

Besides Tiwari, the deceased included Amjad Khan, Sanjay Thakor, Ashish Gupta and Ashish Kumar. Inspector Vala told The Indian Express: “We have filed an Accidental Death report in the matter and are investigating it. However, since it was supervisor Tiwari who had received the contract for cleaning the tank, he was the one responsible for ensuring safety.”

When asked about the liability of the company, Vala said, “The company had given the contract to Tiwari with clear instructions that nobody was supposed to enter the tank.”

News agency ANI reported plant head Mainik Pal as saying: “It is a very sad and unfortunate incident. An investigation is underway. We have announced to provide compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the family of deceased…”