Chennai: Manual scavenging reared its ugly head again as three persons were asphyxiated on Monday evening while cleaning a well in Perungudi.
The deceased were identified as Santhosh, Anbazhagan and Kalidasan, all residents of Subashchandra Bose Street, Kallukuttai in Perungudi. The incident happened around 6 pm on Monday while they were cleaning the well which belonged to Kanappan, Perungudi.
According to police, five persons had come to clean the well on Monday, After clearing the water from the well, three men fainted and the other two men identified as Raju and Sekar, who witnessed the trio fall unconscious, alerted people.
Before residents could come, they both fell unconscious too. Police and fire and rescue personnel rushed to the scene on the information. Rescue teams got inside the well wearing safety gear and fished out the five men.
They were moved to the private hospital where Santhosh, Anbazhagan and Kalidasan were declared dead on arrival, whereas Raju and Sekar are undergoing treatment in a critical condition. Perungudi police registered a case and arrested Kannappan.
Further investigations are on.
