5 men working at Ghaziabad drainage project die of suffocation
Ghaziabad, Aug 22: Five men working in a drainage project in Ghaziabad were suffocated to death on Thursday as they allegedly did not have safety kits, officials said.
They were working at a project, sanctioned by the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, to connect domestic sewer lines with the main drainage system of the city, District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said.
They were employed by a private contractor, which was carrying out the project under 'Amrit Yojna' of the civic body's water department in Krishna Colony near Nandgram area under Sihani Gate police station limits, he said.
Around 1 pm, one of the men went inside the sewer line but did not come out. Then one by one the other four men went inside to find out. When none of them came out, another man went inside and saw the five men lying in an unconscious state, the official said.
The contractor did not provide them safety kits, he added.
The men were brought out and rushed to nearby Mariam Hospital, where doctors declared them dead, Pandey said.
A case has been lodged against the contractor, EMS Infracon, and three of its engineers after the civic body filed a police complaint alleging negligence.
Municipal Commissioner Dinesh Sharma has been directed to take legal action against errant persons and officials, Pandey said.
The deceased have been identified as Damodar (40), Horil (35), Sandip (30), Shiv Kumar (32) and Vijay Kumar (40), all residents of Samastipur in Bihar.
Pandey said the collector of Samastipur has been informed about the incident.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has declared a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of each of those killed.
An enquiry has also been ordered into the incident, which will be conducted by additional district magistrate (city) and the water department.
The report will be sent to the government within two weeks, Pandey said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
