Three died at a sewage pumping station in Ghaziabad while trying to save man

Three persons have died after they went down a well at a sewage pumping station in Ghaziabad’s Loni area on Sunday morning. Two of the men had gone down to save the first victim, who had been tasked to clean the well, the police said.

Around 9.50 am, 40-year-old Roshan Lal, a cleaner employed by a contracting firm had climbed down to clear garbage collected inside the well. Officials believe Lal fainted due to breath toxic gases inside and eventually drowned.

When Lal did not resurface after 10 minutes, 35-year-old Mahesh went down to check on him. Mahesh also fainted due to the gases and drowned. Both Lal and Mahesh were employed by the contractor firm.

A third man, who was later identified by the police as 26-year-old Bulbul, had gone down to rescue the two victims and ended up suffering the same fate. Bulbul, who is native of Bareilly, was a resident of Loni’s Nasbandi Colony, the police said.

Shameem, a local, who undertook the initial rescue operation, said, “Two of us from the locality went down and tried to retrieve the first two. However, due to the presence of noxious gases, I felt dizzy and had to climb back. Bulbul, who had gone down with me, could not come out.”

The well is nearly 60 feet deep and had nearly four foot of garbage with a heavy presence of toxic gases like methane, officials said.

The operation of the station had been entrusted to a private firm by Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam. The pumping station is located near Dabur Talab Colony and receives sewage from nearby localities. The sewage is later pushed to a treatment plant at Sadullabad.

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Soon after the news of the accident spread, police and fire department officials arrived and alerted the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which sent divers to fish out the victims’ bodies. “Our divers felt uneasy despite carrying oxygen cylinders with their diving suits,” an NDRF official said.

Rakesh Tomar, the owner of the contractor firm, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Officials from UP Jal Nigam said that they have initiated an internal inquiry into the alleged lapses that led to the deaths.

District magistrate Ritu Maheshwari has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.

“The inquiry will focus on the lapses, safety issues violated and shortcomings on the part of the contractor. I have also directed the filing of an FIR against the contractor. The investigation will also focus on any lapses on the part of Jal Nigam officials,” she added.

The police said the three bodies have been sent for postmortem and an FIR under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) has been lodged at Loni police station.

“The FIR was lodged against the officials of the contractor’s firm. Prima facie, it seems that the men got fainted inside and got drowned in the toxic water. The identity of the third victim could not be established. Our teams are trying to establish his identity,” said Durgesh Kumar Singh, circle officer, Loni.