Three manual scavengers suffocate to death in Bengaluru
Apartment residents had contracted Narayanaswamy to look after STP tank and other civic works of the apartment.
Bengaluru: Three men, who were hired by the residents of a posh apartment at Bandepalya in HSR Layout to manually clean the clogged sewage treatment plant tank, suffocated to death in the 12 ft deep tank on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Narayanaswamy, 35, in charge of the STP at ND Sepal Apartment in Somasundarapalya, Srinivas, 56, a painter, and Madegowda, 42, an electrician at a garments factory.
Apartment residents had contracted Narayanaswamy to look after STP tank and other civic works of the apartment. He called up Srinivas and Madegowda to clean the STP tank, promising them a good pay.
While Narayanaswamy and Srinivas died in the STP tank, Madegowda succumbed while being shifted to Columbia Asia Hospital.
The incident occurred around 11 am, when all the three set out to clean the STP tank at the basement of the apartment. One of them, it is not clear who, entered the STP tank, but he suffocated to death because of toxic gases inside. When he failed to respond, the other worker went in, he collapsed as there was no oxygen inside the tank. An alarmed Madegowda entered last, but he too collapsed. Noticing their absence the apartment’s guard alerted the apartment association members, who called up the fire and emergency department, the police said.
Fire brigade personnel along with the police rushed to the spot, pulled the three out of the STP tank and administered CPR.
The three were rushed to St. John’s Hospital, where they were declared brought dead.