Nabarangpur: Four individuals, including three sanitation workers and a local resident, died of suffocation inside a newly-built septic tank at Padalguda village under Nandahandi block in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district on Tuesday morning.
According to sources, a resident hired the workers to remove the centring slab of a 10×10-foot septic tank. Two workers entered but quickly suffocated, likely due to low oxygen and toxic gases trapped beneath the sealed slab. A third worker attempted a rescue but also collapsed. A passerby who tried to help also succumbed to the hazardous conditions.
On being informed, Fire Service personnel swiftly pulled out the four individuals and rushed them to district headquarters hospital here. The three workers were pronounced dead on arrival, and the passerby, admitted to the ICU in critical condition, died shortly after.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
