Labourers die after inhaling toxic gases in flour mill's storage tank

Two workers trapped in a flour mill's storage tank in Delhi's Lawrence Road area on Tuesday night were brought out dead in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

According to the police, the victims, Mobin Khan and Baibal, were cleaning a storage tank which had stored raw material for the flour mill. However the tank had been closed for about seven months which led to accumulation of toxic gases.

Mobin was tasked to go inside the storage tank, but after a little while he fainted inside so Baibal was sent in to rescue Mobin, however he also fainted inside the tank.

A third labourer, who is unidentified, was also sent in but he too fainted in the tank. He was rescued on Wednesday but the other two could not survive the toxic gases.

On Wednesday morning, firefighters had to break a large portion of the mill to reach the trapped men but could only recover their dead bodies.

The duo died of asphyxiation from the poisonous gases. The factory owner has been arrested in the case.

--IANS

sp-rag/kr