THREE workers suffocated to death after inhaling toxic gas inside a drainage chamber while repairing a BSNL cable in the Nigdi Pradhikaran area of Pimpri-Chinchwad city in Maharashtra on Friday. 

Police said that four labourers had descended into the drainage chamber through a manhole to carry out the repair work when toxic gas reportedly leaked inside the line, leaving them with no chance to escape. They said the workers entered the manhole without essential safety gear or protective equipment. Police and the fire brigade rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported. They pulled out three bodies and a fourth worker was rescued and rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

Dr Shrikrishna Joshi, vice president of Lokmanya Hospital, Nigdi, told mid-day, “On Friday, at around 4.30 pm, the workers were brought to the hospital, but by that time they were dead.”