Three labourers working at a private leather factory died of asphyxiation while as many were hospitalised after they got trapped in a well on the premises at Mugal Majra village in Karnal district, police said on Sunday.
As per other workers, the incident took place around 2pm when they went inside the well to clean it, but couldn’t come out. Later, other labourers were sent to rescue them, but they also got trapped due to poisonous gasses.
As they too failed to come out, other workers brought them out with the help of ropes.
According to the police, the deceased have been identified as Satish, 30, of Dabri village in Karnal; Rajkumar alias Raju, 24, from Bihar, and Pawan Kumar, 23, a native of Jharkhand. The survivors are Bhim Singh, Suraj and Mousam Thakur. They are undergoing treatment at Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College where their condition is said to be stable.
Labourers and the family members of the deceased have reportedly accused the owners of the factory of negligence.
Karnal superintendent of police Ganga Ram Punia confirmed that three labourers have died and three others have been hospitalised. About the action against the owner of the factory, he said the statements of persons concerned and family members of the deceased were being recorded and appropriate legal action will be initiated as per the law.
A team from the Kunjpura police station reached the spot and the bodies were sent for the postmortem examination.
