Pune: Three workers died of suffocation caused by toxic gases while cleaning a wastewater tank on the premises of a mushroom-producing company in Belsar village near Jejuri, around 4.30pm on Sunday.Jejuri police identified the deceased as Pintu Rajesh Prasad (23), Vyas Soham Kumar (22), and Gautam Ramsharan Kushwaha (36), all three hailing from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.Assistant police inspector Deepak Waghchaure of the Jejuri police station said, “All three workers, natives of UP, were staying near the company they were working for. Kushwaha had been working with the company for the past 10 years, while Prasad and Kumar had joined about a year ago.”An accidental death report has been registered at Jejuri police station. “The incident is under investigation, and an FIR will be registered after fixing responsibility,” Waghchaure said, adding, “Their post-mortem reports are awaited.”According to the police, the company employs around 15-20 workers for mushroom production.“There is an underground tank on the premises where water used in the mushroom production process is discharged. The workers were asked to clean the tank. One worker entered the tank to clean it. The tank contained accumulated wastewater from the production process, and toxic gases had built up inside. There was also excessive heat. When the worker inside the tank began to suffocate, another worker present at the mouth of the tank tried to rescue him by entering it. However, he too started suffocating. Seeing this, the contractor present at the site panicked and attempted to rescue both workers by entering the tank. In the process, all three lost consciousness due to suffocation,” Waghchaure said.Other workers at the site realised what had happened and raised an alarm.An earthmover was then summoned to the spot. The slab of the tank was broken open, and the three workers were pulled out. They were rushed to a rural hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
