Two labourers were reportedly asphyxiated while cleaning the waste tank of a closed hotel at Iringadanpalli near Kovoor in Kozhikode on Friday. The deceased were identified as Asokan of Kinaloor and Rineesh of Koottalida.
According to the police, the incident took place around 4.30 p.m. The workers were engaged in cleaning a 10-feet-deep tank without adopting any safety measures. The tank had been kept closed for months which resulted in the formation of toxic fumes, they said.
A local resident said Rineesh lost his life when he reportedly entered the tank after seeing his collapsed co-worker. Though the Fire and Rescue Services squad reached the spot and rushed the two to the Government Medical College Hospital, they died on the way.
Preliminary inspection found that the tank contained toxic waste water at a depth of around two feet. The hotel had remained closed for a few months. Senior Revenue officials and local administrators inspected the spot. The bodies were shifted to the Medical College Hospital mortuary.
In a similar incident in 2015, three persons including two migrant labourers and an autorickshaw driver were asphyxiated in Kozhikode. While the two migrant workers died while cleaning a manhole, the third, Noushad, lost his life in his attempt to save the two from the spot on Kandamkulam crossroad. After the incident, local administrators had introduced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of cleaning workers.
