Two men enter manhole to ‘find gold particles’, die of asphyxiation

Fire officials said the depth of the manhole was around 10 feet and when both of them started facing breathing problems, they shouted for help.

“After being informed by local residents, our team rushed to the spot and pulled the men out after cutting a pipe in the sewer. They were taken to a hospital in an unconscious state, but were declared dead,” said chief fire officer Basant Pareek.

An accidental death report was registered at Athwalines police station and further probe is under way, police said. The bodies of the deceased were handed to families after postmortem.

According to an eyewitness, some people are involved in separating gold particles from the sewer waste.

“Since there are several jewellery manufacturing units in this area, gold particles get washed into the sewer. The two men came here around 1 am in search of gold,” a local claimed. Sources said that there are over 20 gold jewellery manufacturing units in the area.
(With PTI)