Two workers die while cleaning tank in Greater Noida chemical factory
The victims’ kin alleged negligence on the part of the contractor and the factory owner, and police registered a case against both
Two workers died after inhaling poisonous gases in a tank they were trying to clean in a chemical factory in Site V industrial area, Greater Noida, around 9.30pm on Tuesday. The victims’ kin alleged negligence on the part of the contractor and the factory owner.
The deceased were identified as Rambhes, 26, and Pankaj, 22, (known by their first names only) from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. They lived in a slum in Site V area.
Ravindra, Pankaj’s cousin, said that on Tuesday night, a contractor Hemant visited him and said that he needed some workers to clean a large tank in a chemical factory.
“Hemant offered us ₹6,000 for the work. Four of us, including Rambhes, Pankaj and another man Ramesh, agreed to clean the tank. We reached the factory at night and found a large underground chemical tank. We entered the tank and realised the strong smell of chemicals was making it difficult to breathe,” Ravindra said.
He said that the workers informed the contractor that it was unsafe to work without any safety gear.
“The contractor said that he had got this work done several times in the past and there was no need to worry,” he said in the complaint.
Ravindra said that soon Rambhes and Pankaj fainted in the tank.
“We somehow pulled them out of the tank and rushed them to a private hospital in Greater Noida where doctors declared them dead on arrival. They died after inhaling poisonous gases just because the contractor forced us to work without a safety mask and gear,” he said.
Sudhir Kumar, station house officer, Kasna police station, said a case had been registered against contractor Hemant and the factory owner under sections 304-A (death due to negligence) and 284 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance) of the Indian Penal Code.
“We have detained the contractor in this case. The factory owner has given ₹8.77 lakh compensation to the kin of each deceased victim. It is not clear if the factory owner was directly involved in engaging workers to clean the tank. We are investigating the matter,” he said.