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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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
