5 suffocate to death at Chhattisgarh brick kiln, one hospitalised

Five workers died of asphyxiation and another took ill after inhaling smoke at a brick kiln in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at Gadhphuljhar village, the official said.

As per preliminary investigation, six workers put mud bricks into the kiln for heating on Tuesday night and slept atop it, he said. Of them, five were found dead in the morning, the official said, adding that they most likely died of suffocation.

The accident came to light after other workers reached the spot and tried to wake them up, he said. The sixth worker has been hospitalised, he said.

The bodies have been sent for port-mortem and the incident is being probed, the official said.