He died before medical help could reach him
Body of Ramulu.
Hyderabad: An employee of the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board died after he fainted inside a manhole at Vadderabasti in Nallakunta on Sunday afternoon.
A. Ramulu, 51, a resident of Boduppal, entered the five-metre deep manhole to clean it, but could not come out after he inhaled methane.
Though a rescue mission was initiated after his coworkers and locals alerted the fire control room, he died before medical help could reach him.
Before the fire tender arrived, another employee, Mr Srinivas, entered the manhole to rescue Ramulu.
Srinivas managed to climb back up, but fainted. He was taken to a hospital where his condition is stable, officials said.
Methane gas in manhole killed Water Board staff
Local police and a fire tender arrived within few minutes at the spot where a Water Board staffer fainted inside a manhole.
“A few minutes after Ramulu went inside the manhole, the workers standing outside realised that no sound was coming from inside. They called his name several times, but he did not respond. Another worker soon got into the manhole, but he suddenly came back up and fainted on the ground. Others then alerted us and the fire control room,” said Nallakunta inspector S. Santhosh Kiran.
Sewereage Board officials said that Ramulu had died from the lethal methane gas instantly. Locals said that the workers and the supervisor had ignored the Standard Operating Procedure by avoiding basic safety measures.
Sources said that the air technician from the Board did not verify the presence of methane in the manhole before sending the worker in.
Meanwhile, Water Board officials blamed the victim for entering the manhole before clearing the gas. “Though his supervisor asked him to wait, he entered stating that he had years of experience,” said G. Rameshwar Rao, director (operations).
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
