Two workers die while cleaning restaurant's sewage treatment unit in Delhi

Two employees of a restaurant here died allegedly due to asphyxiation while cleaning its kitchen treatment plant on Saturday, police said.

The incident occurred at 'Pirates of Grill' restaurant in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden, they said.

Housekeeping employees Rakesh (45) and Ajay (19) died while two of their colleagues -- Pankaj and Raju -- were hospitalised, the police said.

"The incident occurred between 1:30 and 2 pm... Prima facie, it seems they went into the kitchen waste treatment plant for cleaning purposes," Monika Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said.

They were rushed to two nearby hospitals. Rakesh and Ajay were declared brought dead at the hospitals. Pankaj and Raju were undergoing treatment.

Rakesh and Pankaj were taken to Kukreja Hospital, while Raju and Pankaj were rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, they said.

Rakesh and Ajay used to live in a rented accommodation at Tagore Garden. Pankaj and Raju used to stay in restaurant premises. Rakesh, Ajay and Pankaj are from Uttar Pradesh (UP), while Raju was from Bihar, a senior police officer said.

Rakesh used to work as a supervisor and was working there for the past nine years, police said.

"A case has been registered against restaurant management at Rajouri Garden police station. Further investigation is going on, the DCP said, adding it will take time to ascertain that who was responsible for this.

In a statement, the Delhi Jal Board said, "It is a very tragic incident and we are very sad over it. However, DJB has nothing to do with it. Neither the said plant being cleaned is of DJB nor the workers belonged to DJB. They were hired privately by the owner."