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6, including 3 of family, die of asphyxiation
Six people died of asphyxiation after they inhaled poisonous gas inside the septic tank of a building at Nemili village near Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram district on Tuesday.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The police said that a sewage collecting vehicle had cleared the septic tank on Tuesday morning. Krishnamurthi (53), owner of the building, went inside the tank around noon to clean the sludge left behind. But he lost consciousness soon after entering the tank as he inhaled the toxic gas. His sons, Kannan (27) and Karthik (24), saw this and jumped into the 10-feet deep tank in succession to rescue their father. But they, too, fell prey to the toxic gasses and died.
V Paramasivam (31) and S Surathabai (23), who were tenants of the building, also entered the tank to pull out the family lying inside of it. But they were also asphyxiated.
Adding to the tragedy, M Laxmikanthan, an employee of a gas agency who came to deliver a cylinder, tried to save them. He also died of asphyxiation.
The Kancheepuram SP arrived at the spot and held enquires. The police have sent the bodies for post-mortem examination at Sriperumbudur Government Hospital and further inquiry is on.
Lack of basic precautions reason for Kanchi tragedy, say experts
The shocking incident that claimed six lives could have been avoided if the victims had taken basic precautions while cleaning septic tanks, said healthcare experts.
“The septic tank should be left open for at least about half an hour before entering inside. Then, the presence of methane or ethane gas should be checked by lighting a fire inside the tank, which will burn the methane and ethane,” said Dr P Vasanthamani, dean, Kilpauk Medical College.
Only after the fire goes off – indicating that all gasses have been burnt – should one enter inside the septic tank. Even after this, it is recommended that they wear a life jacket and carry mini oxygen cylinders with them, the senior physician added. “Sometimes the lamp may not get lit inside the tank due to lack of oxygen. Therefore, oxygen cylinders should definitely be used,” she said.
Meanwhile, police said that Krishnamurthi, who owned the two-storey building in Selvaperumal Nagar, was a prominent businessman in the area who owned several establishments, including a restaurant, an automobile spares shop and a departmental store. “He lived with his family in the ground floor of the building while the first floor was rented split into smaller portions that were let out to tenants,” a police official said.
Besides Kannan and Karthik, the other two victims Surathabai from Odisha and Paramasivam, lived in the first floor of the building with their families. “Laxminathan, who worked at as a gas agency, had come there to deliver an LPG cylinder and died trying to help the others,” the official said.
Police also said that fire tenders from Kancheepuram and Sriperumbudur fire stations rushed to the spot and brought out the bodies later in the afternoon.
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