Five dead, another hospitalized due to asphyxiation while cleaning septic tank in Maharashtra's Parbhani

The incident took place at Bhauchan Tanda in Parbhani's Sonpeth taluka where some people were cleaning the septic tank at Vitthal Maroti Rathod's farm house at Bhaucha Tanda.

Parbhani: In a tragic incident, at least five persons died of asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank in Parbhani district of Maharashtra, officials said on Friday. An official said that the incident took place at Bhauchan Tanda in Parbhani's Sonpeth taluka. Some people were cleaning the septic tank at Vitthal Maroti Rathod's farm house at Bhaucha Tanda since Thursday afternoon.

At around 8 pm, a person noticed that the workers had fallen unconscious. Accordingly, he reported the incident to the police. Soon, a team of police rushed to the spot along with a bulldozer and launched a rescue operation. The police team got the septic tank broken with the bulldozer and took out the six workers in an unconscious state.

The victims were taken to the hospital where five of them were declared dead. The sixth worker is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Parli. The deceased have been identified as Sheikh Sadeq (age 45), his son Sheikh Shahrukh (age 20), his son-in-law Sheikh Junaid (age 29), Javed's brother Sheikh Navid (age 25) and cousin Sheikh Feroze (age 19).

Sheikh Saber (age 18) is underrgoing treatment and is said to be stable, an official said. All these people are residents of Sonpeth city. While police is investigating the case to ascertain the cause of death, a plice official said that preliminary investigation has pointed out to asphyxiation due to poisonous gas emanating from the human excreta as the cause of death.

The incident has caused shock and grief in the area.