India, July 27 -- A 22-year-old security guard died while attempting to rescue a sanitation worker who had fallen unconscious inside a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Eldeco society in Sector 150 early on Sunday, raising serious concerns over safety practices during confined-space cleaning operations. The deceased were identified as Akash Singh (22), a resident of Firozabad, and Shashikant Sharma (40), a contractor from Rajasthan. Police said the incident occurred at around 3 am when Shashikant entered the STP tank to clean it. After he failed to respond to repeated calls, Akash covered his face with a handkerchief and climbed into the tank to rescue him, but was also overcome by toxic gases.
The fire department received a call at around 4 am and rushed to the society. Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said rescuers equipped with breathing apparatus entered the nearly 40x40-ft STP, which contained no water but was filled with poisonous gases, including methane and carbon dioxide. "It took around 50 minutes and nearly 15 fire personnel to pull out both victims. One officer entered the tank twice to locate them. The security guard was found first, while the second victim was recovered deeper inside the chamber," Choubey said. Both men were taken to a nearby hospital. Police said Shashikant was declared dead on arrival, while Akash succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Preliminary investigation found the society had outsourced STP cleaning to a private firm. Police registered an FIR against the builder, maintenance head and security head, and are investigating whether mandatory safety equipment was provided before workers entered the confined space.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.