Chennai: 2 die cleaning septic tank; building secretary, supervisor held

The workers were cleaning a septic tank that was about 20-feet deep when they fainted.

According to the police, the workers had been engaged in such work for the past five years. (File)

Two people cleaning a septic tank inside a gated community in Perungudi asphyxiated to death after inhaling poisonous gas on Wednesday evening, following which the police arrested the building secretary, an ex-serviceman, and the supervisor.

The deceased were identified as P Periyasamy (38) and D Dhatchanamoorthy (38) from Pallikaranai.

According to the police, the workers had been engaged in such work for the past five years. The police said that at 1 pm on Wednesday, the workers cleaned one septic tank in the block. At 6.30 pm, they were cleaning another tank that was about 20-feet deep when they fainted after inhaling the poisonous gas.

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K Saravanan, the supervisor who had engaged these workers, alerted the secretary of the apartment and fire and rescue personnel and local police were soon informed. The workers were rescued around 7.30 pm and when the ambulance crew checked on them, they noted that Periyasamy had passed away. The other worker was rushed to a nearby hospital where he too died at 8.10 pm. The bodies were sent to Royapettah government hospital for post-mortem.

The police booked the building secretary S Krishnan, a 61-year-old ex-serviceman, and supervisor Saravanan (44) under sections 336 and 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of Prohibitions of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

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