Four labourers died while cleaning a grease tank in Punjab's Dera Bassi, Police said. (Representational)
Four labourers died while cleaning a grease tank in a Federal Meat Plant in Punjab's Dera Bassi on Friday afternoon, said a police official.
The incident took place when the four labours entered the grease tank one after the other. While cleaning the tank, they inhaled noxious fumes.
One of the victims, who, too, had entered the tank but was rescued by locals, narrated the ordeal.
He said, "A labourer entered the tank to clean the grease that gets accumulated in the tank with time. When the first labourer he didn't return, the second got in but he, too, inhaled toxic fumes and did not come out. Thereafter, two more labours entered the tank. With none coming out, I entered the tank and fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes."
"Later, I was rescued and, somehow, survived. But the rest of the four labourers succumbed to the noxious fumes," said the survivor.
The deceased were identified as Manak, Shridhar Pandey, Kurban and Janak. Their bodies were kept in the mortuary of Dera Bassi Civil Hospital.
The police are investigating the matter.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)