Three labourers die after inhaling toxic gas inside well

Three labourers, engaged in deepening a well here, today died after they inhaled copious amounts of toxic gas emanating from it, police said.

The incident occurred around 3:30pm in the basement of Empress City residential building here, they added.

"There are six wells in the basement of the building and four labourers were engaged in deepening one of the wells and other plumbing works. They entered one after the other and fell unconscious due to the gas accumulated inside. They died soon after," Rajendra Uchke, Nagpur Municipal Corporation Fire Officer, told PTI.

A fourth labourer was saved as he caught the smell of gas early and came out of the well as soon as he entered, Uchke added.

Police said the three have been identified as Deepak Gawte, Ajay Karodi and Chandrakant Barapatre, all in their mid-forties.

"The post-mortem would be conducted on Tuesday. A case has been registered and further investigations are underway," police said.