Two workers were killed after they allegedly inhaled poisonous gas from a valve which they opened for maintenance work at Kodungaiyur area today, police said.
"Nandakumar (21) and Jayakumar (31) were killed after inhaling poisonous gas from a sewerage piping network pit in a Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board facility at Kodungayur," C Dharmaraj, Station Officer, Fire and Rescue, Manali told PTI.
The duo, working for a sub-contractor of the Sewerage Board went down about 10 feet in the pit and opened the valve for maintenance and repair work early today. One of them fainted and the other went to rescue him and met the same fate, they said, adding that the two died later.
The brother of one of the deceased alleged that the workers had not been provided proper protective gadgets by the contractor.
Tension prevailed in the locality for a while as relatives of the deceased alleged negligence on part of the contractor and demanded justice.
Police said the plant manager and site incharge under the rolls of the contractor have been arrested on charges of negligence and would soon be remanded to custody.
