Looking for coworker who didn’t surface, 7 other labourers enter well in Madhya Pradesh; all 8 killed by toxic gas

Regarding the incident, Khandwa Collector Rishav Gupta said a labourer went inside the well to clean it in preparation for an idol immersion ritual. According to officials, the labourer, identified as Arjun, was then overcome by toxic gas, lost consciousness and sank into the sludge accumulated at the bottom of the well. “In an attempt to save him, seven others entered the well one after another, only to succumb to the same poisonous gas,” a district official said.

Khandwa SP Manoj Kumar Rai said, “Bodies have been recovered. As per the preliminary information, the immersion of Gangaur Mata is scheduled to take place tomorrow (April 4). Traditionally, it was done in this well, located in the middle of the village.”

The rescue operation was initiated after village residents noticed that the labourers had not emerged from the well by evening. Locals initially attempted to rescue them before alerting the authorities. A 15-member SDERF team, equipped with ropes and nets, arrived at the site alongside police and administrative officials. The team successfully retrieved all eight bodies from the well, with Arjun’s body being the last to be recovered.

The well, located near a drain that carries the village’s wastewater, had reportedly turned into a swamp due to accumulated filth. Authorities suspect that the toxic gas was formed due to the decomposition of waste in the well, leading to Arjun’s suffocation when he entered to clean it. The subsequent attempts by others to rescue him resulted in the same fate.