Chhattisgarh: Man, two sons among five dead after inhaling suspected toxic gas inside well
Janjgir-Champa (PTI): Five people, including a man and his two sons, died due to suspected inhalation of poisonous gas inside an unused well in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district on Friday, police said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the incident that occurred in Kikirda village under the Birra police station area in the morning.
He also announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each deceased.
A team from the state disaster response force (SDRF) fished out the bodies from the well, they said.
Ramchandra Jaiswal (60), Ramesh Patel (50), his two sons Rajendra (20) and Jitendra (25), and Tikeshwar Chandra (25) have died in the incident, Inspector General of Police (Bilaspur Range) Sanjeev Shukla said.
As per preliminary information, Jaiswal entered the 30-foot deep well on the premises of his house to retrieve a wooden strip that had fallen in, he said.
When Jaiswal fainted, his wife shouted for help, following which three others from the Patel family in the neighbourhood entered the water body, he said.
When none of them came out, Chandra entered the well, but he also fell unconscious, prompting locals to alert the police, the official said.
Prima facie, it appears that the men died after inhaling some poisonous gas inside the well. However, the exact cause of the deaths will be known after the autopsy, an official from the district administration said.
"The first man (Jaiswal) entered the well, and after inhaling some poisonous gas, he fell into the water and died. Four others entered the well to save him and lost their lives," he said.
The SDRF team has retrieved the bodies, and they have been sent for post-mortem, he said.
Under provisions of the Revenue Book Circular, compensation will be provided to their kin, and other financial assistance will also be extended, he added.
In a post in Hindi on 'X', the chief minister said, "Received information about the tragic death of five people after coming in contact with poisonous gas in a well in Kikirda village of Janjgir. I announce a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each deceased."
The state government is ready to provide all possible assistance to the affected families, he said.
According to official sources, the old ring well had not been used for around four months since Jaiswal had dug a borewell in his house.
The well was around 30 feet deep and had water up to 5 feet, they said.
The owner had used wooden strips to cover the opening of the well, and following thunderstorms and rains in the area in the last few days, one of the strips had fallen in, they said.
Sources said the well was unused for a long time and was covered, resulting in the emission of toxic gas.
VIDEO | Five people lost their lives as they drowned after inhaling gas leaked inside a well in Chhattisgarh’s Champa. More details are awaited.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 5, 2024
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
