The brother of one of the three workers who died after inhaling toxic gas inside a tank at a Delhi factory on Saturday blamed negligence and lack of safety equipment as the cause of the tragedy.
The Delhi Fire Service received an emergency call from the factory at 12.03 pm, stating that three people were trapped in a tank. The men allegedly died within minutes of entering the tank, according to an earlier HT report. The first crews arrived sometime around 12:40-12:45 p.m.
The three men, Arun Singh, 38, Sandeep Baliram, 32, and Chand, 42, entered a sewage tank at a factory in the Mundka area outside Delhi to clean it.
Narendra, Arun’s elder brother, narrated how the sequence of events happened, saying the workers entered “one by one” and collapsed, according to news agency ANI. He added that one of the workers entered first while the other two went to rescue him and died.
“I learned that they were poisoned by gas inside the tank… They say the first person went in, then was overcome by the gas and collapsed inside. Another went to rescue him and he also collapsed inside. Then a third went to rescue them and was stuck inside as well. The police did not allow anyone to enter the site,” Narendra told ANI.
The brother of the deceased also held the factory owner responsible for the death, claiming the lack of safety equipment. Narendra said: “If we talk about the fault, it lies with the factory owner… They did not provide any equipment… I have many responsibilities, but I am unemployed myself.” He added that the workers were initially hired to pump water but were later forced to remove solid waste. Narendra said that his brother did not allow him to work due to his health problems. He added: “He supported his family and his two children, as well as my family and my three children.”
Read also | Accountability down the drain
“I took masks…it seems the tank has not been opened for years.”
A senior Delhi Fire Service officer said the first fire truck was stuck in a traffic jam, after which a different vehicle and crew were dispatched from another location.
The firefighters who were on the spot at 1.30pm said the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) should be informed, a senior FSD officer said. The official said that the individuals were unable to get into the tank at first.
“We took masks and ropes. Somehow we managed to send a firefighter inside who then pulled out the three bodies lying in the sewage,” the officer said, adding that ropes were also tied to the three bodies to pull them out. “…it looked like the tank had not been opened for months or perhaps years,” the DFS officer said.
A report was filed regarding the incident, and the police arrested three people in connection with the incident. Those detained include factory owner Suraj Marwah (50 years old), contractor Neeraj (35 years old) and factory employee Jayant Singh.
(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha)
