NEW DELHI, Mar 9: Four people suffocated and one more person was injured after falling into a water tank located in the basement of an under-construction building in South Mumbai’s Nagpada area on Sunday morning. Police said the cause of death was believed to be suffocation.
According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the incident took place today at around 12:30 pm when five of the workers were cleaning a water tank at Bismillah Space Building in Nagpada.
The civic officials said as soon as the incident was reported, they rushed to the spot and rescued the suffocating workers. The five workers were rushed to JJ Hospital by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) for treatment where four were declared brought dead by the doctors, and one worker is under treatment.
“The incident occurred at Bismillah Space building located on Dimtimkar Road in the Nagpada area around 12.30 pm. Five persons entered the tank and fell unconscious. They were rescued by fire brigade personnel and rushed to JJ Hospital, where doctors declared four dead on arrival,” a civic official said.
The deceased were identified as Hasipal Shaikh (19), Raja Shaikh (20), Jiaulla Shaikh (36) and Imandu Shaikh (38), while the fifth person, Purhan Shaikh (31) is recuperating.
JJ Police Station Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Kate said, “At 12.30 pm, we received information that four people are stuck in a water tank at Bismillah Space Tower, which is under construction. We found that four people were unconscious in the tank. The fire brigade reached the spot and rescued them and took them to the JJ Hospital… Four people have died and one is under treatment…”
An accidental death report (ADR) was registered and a probe has begun to find out lapses, if any, on the part of those who hired the five and whether safety protocols were adhered to, a JJ police station official said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
