Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday expressed grief over the death five persons due to asphyxiation inside a septic tank at Durgipaika Sahi under Bissamcuttack block of Rayagada district.
Conveying his sympathy to the bereaved families, the Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased.
According to sources, a labourer aged about 22 years old slipped and fell into the septic tank belonging to a person while attempting to fetch water from it. Noticing this, four other persons rushed to the spot and tried to rescue him, but they too met the same fate.
All the five victims were rushed to Christian Hospital in Bissamcuttack for treatment by an ambulance and a private vehicle. However, they were declared dead by the doctors.
