Guest worker dies while cleaning water tank at ethanol unit

Chennai: A worker from Odisha died after inhaling suspected toxic fumes while cleaning a sump water tank at an ethanol unit in Tiruvallur district on Monday night. Four others have been hospitalised.Police said the deceased, Dananth Jaya Malik, 24, was employed at a private company in the SIPCOT Industrial Estate at Thervoy Kandigai near Gummidipoondi, where he was engaged in routine maintenance work on Monday evening along with co-workers Sagar Das, Subrath Kumar, Mano Rangan Das, all from Odisha, and supervisor P Mullai Vendhan. The team had been assigned to clean a sump water tank in the ethanol unit.The workers entered the tank, but they began to faint one after another, allegedly after inhaling noxious fumes. Water tanks in ethanol plants can contain residual waste, including chemical traces, which may release toxic gases in enclosed spaces, police said. Supervisor Mullai Vendhan pulled them out and rushed them to a private hospital in Manjankaranai. They were later referred to Rajiv Gandhi Govt General Hospital for further treatment. Malik, who was in a critical condition, died on the way. Health condition of the four others is said to be stable.
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