Three dead, five hospitalised after septic tank suffocation at textile company in Ishwarpur

Kolhapur: Three workers died of suffocation after entering a septic tank of a private textile company at Waghwadi Phata in Sangli's Ishwarpur (earlier Islampur), late on Sunday evening. Five others who entered the tank to help and rescue the workers also inhaled the noxious gases and fell ill. They are currently under treatment at private hospitals in Kolhapur and Sangli.The deceased have been identified as Vishal Jadhav (30) and Sachin Chavan (39), both residents of Beghar Vasahat in Ishwarpur, and Sagar Mali (25), a resident of Peth, in Sangli's Walwa taluka. An accidental death case was booked at the Ishwarpur police station on Monday morning.According to the Ishwarpur police, Vishal Jadhav entered the tank first on Sunday around 6.30 pm to clean it, but fell unconscious due to poisonous gas inhalation. Sachin Jadhav then entered the tank to rescue him, but he too fell unconscious. Both Vishal and Sachin were workers appointed by a private contractor. The police said Sagar Mali, a worker of the textile company, rushed to help after seeing the two workers collapse, but he also became trapped in a critical condition after entering the tank. Other workers later arrived for rescue and removed them from the tank. All three — Vishal, Sachin and Sagar — were taken to the hospital, where they were declared brought dead.Among the men who fell ill during the rescue, the condition of 40-year-old Mahadev Kadam was serious, and he had to be shifted to a private hospital in Kolhapur for treatment. The other men affected by noxious gases have been identified as Vishal Chougule (24), Keshav Salunkhe (45), Hemant Dhanwade (27) and Sunil Pawar (29), all from Sangli district. They were admitted to a private hospital in Ishwarpur and are undergoing treatment.After the incident, hospital staff informed the Ishwarpur police station. Assistant inspector Kiran Didwagh, of the Ishwarpur police station, said, "There was adequate space to stand inside the tank, and the water inside was above the knee level. The lid was large, but the dirty water got stirred up, and the sludge came to the surface, releasing poisonous gases. That caused the death of three people. A case will be registered after a thorough investigation. Action will be taken if anyone is found guilty."