4 workers die of septic tank fumes in Jaipur, 2 critical

Jaipur: Four men who were allegedly forced to enter a septic tank in Sitapura Industrial Area here to retrieve gold and silver particles died of toxic fumes, police on Tuesday said.

The incident occurred late Monday night in a jewellery factory in G-Block of the Jewellery Zone.

The deceased were identified as Sanjeev Pal, Himanshu Singh, Rohit Pal, and Arpit Yadav, police said.

Two more, Ajay Chauhan and Rajpal, were rushed in a critical condition to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, while two others, Amit Pal and Suraj Pal, were discharged after primary medical care.

The workers had gone down a 10-foot-deep tank and lost consciousness.

Police said initial investigation suggested that the workers had initially refused to enter the tank due to the intense heat and presence of toxic gases. However, the company management persuaded them with promise of extra money.

According to police, Amit and Rohit were the first to descend into the tank. Soon, they began gasping and calling for help. The remaining six went down the tank one after another to help the first two out, but also fell unconscious.

A police source said the septic tank contained a chemical sludge, believed to be carrying hold particles of gold and silver, residue from the jewellery manufacturing and cleaning processes.

The sludge is periodically cleaned to extract valuable metals, a practice not uncommon in jewellery units.