3 leather workers suffocate to death

TNN / Apr 16, 2008, 10:37 IST

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Three workers of a private leather firm died after they inhaled noxious fumes while cleaning a waste collection tank in the company's premises in Sankar Nagar.

CHENNAI: Three workers of a private leather firm died after they inhaled noxious fumes while cleaning a waste collection tank in the company's premises in Sankar Nagar on Tuesday afternoon. A supervisor, who fainted, was rescued and rushed to hospital.
Three workers had got into the tank for cleaning. After inhaling poisonous gas, two fell into the tank, while the other managed to cling on to an iron rod and later get out.Another worker, who went to their rescue, also fell in and died.
Though the fire and rescue personnel reached the spot within half-an-hour, those who had fallen into the tank could not be rescued. The rescue personnel pulled out the three workers, but they were declared 'brought dead' by the Chrompet Government Hospital.
Police identified the deceased as R Raja (36) of Anakaputhur, U Ravi (46) of Thiruneermalai and Muthuraman of Anakaputhur. Raja had tried to pull out the two, but also fell into the tank and died.

Noor Shajahan, a supervisor of the company, was also trapped in the tank, but escaped with injuries. "The tank collects residues and chemicals used to treat hide," Kannan, a technician in the firm said. Police said the workers had not followed the safety protocol before entering the waste collection tank. Workers are supposed to check the oxygen level in the tank before getting in.
Sources said Ramesh, the owner of the company, had engaged the workers to clean the waste collection tank on Monday. The company has three wastage tanks with dimensions of 3x3x10 feet. Ramesh has gone into hiding.

An employee told The Times of India that Ravi, Suresh and Muthuraman complained of irritation in the eyes after working till 1 pm. "They must have taken alcohol after resuming work in the afternoon. Ravi got into the tank first. When he failed to return, Muthuraman went in and fell into the tank. On his cries, Raja went to their rescue without sensing the danger," he said.
Sankar Nagar police have registered a case.
In a similar incident on Sunday, three workers of another leather unit in the same locality had got stuck in a sewage tank and were admitted to a hospital. Four other workers died last December while cleaning a tank in the Hyundai factory on the city outskirts.

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