Chhattisgarh: 5 killed after being exposed to toxic gas in village well

The tragedy happened in the village of Kikirda under the Birra police station area in Janjgir-Champa district at around eight in the morning, according to the police.

The deceased have been identified as Ramchandra Jaiswal, Ramesh Patel, Rajendra Patel, Jitendra Patel and Tikeshwar Chandra, police said.

According to Bilaspur range inspector general of police Sanjeev Shukla, preliminary investigation has suggested that Jaiswal first entered into the village well to take out a wooden plank that had fallen into it.

He however fainted inside the well.

His family members then shouted for help.

Three fellow villagers (Ramesh Patel, Rajendra Patel and Jitendra Patel) jumped into the well to rescue him.

Later, Chandra entered the well when all the four did not come out. He also fell unconscious inside the well.

Later, the local people informed the police about the incident.

A team of state disaster response force (SDRF) soon rushed to the spot.

All the five bodies were removed from the well, the police officer said.

Prima facie, it appears they died after being exposed to some poisonous gas, he added.

He however said the probe was on into the incident.

Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the tragedy and announced an ex gratia of Rs five lakh each to the families of the deceased.