Hyderabad: Seven workers of a poultry farm died due to asphyxiation while cleaning the drainage, police said.
The incident occurred on Friday morning in the poultry farm of Venkateshwara Hatcheries in Morem village under Palmaneru mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.
The incident occurred after the first worker entered the underground drainage pit from main hole for cleaning and shouted for help as he felt suffocation. “When he fell unconscious, other 8 workers entered the pit one after the other to help”, Palmaneru deputy superintendent of Police Chowdesari said.
While four of them died on the spot other three died while undergoing treatment in a hospital. Two other workers were admitted to a local hospital where their condition was described as stable.
As the workers were fighting for their life, on an alert by the security guard local villagers also rushed inside to help and extricate the trapped workers.
As the news of the tragedy spread, a large number of local people gathered outside the poultry farm demanding action against the management. “We have registered a case and search is on for the manager. Cause of the asphyxiation was not known”, the DSP said.
The local people said many daily wage workers were regularly hired by the company for cleaning the drain every day and the workers might have died of poisonous gas or chemical residues. They alleged the management had failed to take necessary precautionary and safety measures.
Deputy Chief Minister N Chinnarajappa expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs200,000 (Dh11,453) to the family of every deceased worker.
The workers who died include Govinda Swamy, Raju, Ramesh, Reddappa, Ramchandra, keshav and Venkat Raju. All of them were residents of Morem village.
