In a tragic incident, two men lost their lives due to suffocation while cleaning a manhole at a house in Uran early this week. The incident took place when a worker hired by a contractor entered the manhole and began to suffocate.
A suction truck cleaner attempted to rescue him but succumbed to the same fate. The truck’s driver then entered to save his colleague but became trapped. Although the first worker was rescued, both the cleaner and the driver died. A case has been registered at Nhava Sheva police station against the contractor, the suction truck owner, and the house owner under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act and Section 106 of the BNS Act for causing death by negligence. According to Nhava Sheva police, the incident took place at a private residence in Sonari village in Uran on Monday evening.
A senior police official from Nhava Sheva police station said the manhole was filled with waste. A worker, Nilesh Dhotre, was the first to enter the manhole but immediately began to suffocate due to a lack of safety gear. Chandan Jaiswal, 23, the cleaner of the suction truck, entered to rescue Dhotre. While Dhotre was pulled out, Jaiswal also started to suffocate. Vikas Taak, 33, the truck’s driver, then entered the manhole to save Jaiswal. He managed to bring Jaiswal out but became trapped inside.
Jaiswal was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance but was declared dead on arrival. Meanwhile, a fire brigade team equipped with proper safety gear retrieved Taak from the manhole, but he had already died from suffocation.