Udhgamandalam:
A 60-year old man was killed and five others hospitalised after inhaling thick diesel smoke when they were cleaning a well near Gudalur, about 70 km from Udhgamandalam in Tamil Nadu, today.
Mr Ramasamy and his two sons climbed down the well, which had little water, which was being pumped out with a diesel-run motor. As thick smoke billowed in the well, they suffocated, tried to reach out for help but fell unconscious, police said.
Noticing this, three persons got down to rescue them, but they too fell unconscious, after which villagers requisitioned the help of fire and rescue personnel.
Even before the arrival of fire force, the villagers brought them up, but by then Ramasamy had died, police said.
While one person was rushed to a hospital in nearby Sultan Battery in neighbouring Kerala, four others are being treated at Gudalur Government hospital, where their condition is stated to be stable.