Madhapur manhole swallows 4 workers

​Hyderabad: Four workers died while cleaning a manhole at Ayyappa Society in Madhapur on Saturday. Three workers died of asphyxiation caused due to excess emanation of methane gas while cleaning a deep manhole.

A passer-by, who tried to help the labourers, too died. An emergency service employee of 108, who tried to rescue the three, was fighting for his life in a private hospital.

The three labourers -- Pallapu Satyanarayana (42), Pallapu Srinivas and adda coolie Oorsu Nagesh (35), were hired by a private contractor to clean the drain.

They died soon after getting into the manhole due to suffocation caused by poisonous gas. Satyanarayana, Srinivas and Nagesh hailed from Manikeshwarnagar near Osmania University.

The passer-by, Gangadhar Reddy (31), belonged to Parvatha Nagar of Borabanda. Emergency service employee Chandu has been rescued by the police.

Satyanarayana went first into the manhole. When he did not return, Nagesh and Srinivas got down into the sewer and were caught in a poisonous gas trap inside the manhole. Gangadhar Reddy a passerby, rushed to the spot to rescue them but he too fell into the manhole and lost his life.

Speaking to The Hans India, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board managing director M Dana Kishore said that the works have been taken up by the blacklisted contractor GSK industries.

He said that the private agency has been blacklisted after the death of Moti Yadav, a 24-year-old tea vendor near Ayyappa society in Madhapur in June

Stating that the Board has called for tenders to take up the project, Dana Kishore said that he was clueless about the ongoing works.

The Water Board MD said that he would inquire into the matter and initiate legal action against the culprits. However, the Water Board sources said that the higher authorities were hand in glove with the contractor and gave permission to the private agency to carry out the works.