Two die while working in septic tank of Pune housing society; suffocation suspected

Two labourers died of suspected asphyxiation while working in a drainage chamber-cum-septic tank in Wagholi area of Pune city on Friday morning, police said.

The incident took place at a housing society, they said, adding that one more worker is likely to have got trapped inside the tank.

"The victims were working in an 18-feet deep drainage-cum-septic tank. It seems that they were suffocated and got stuck inside. We were informed about it around 7 am and after reaching the spot, we took the bodies of two workers out," an official from the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority's fire brigade department said.

As per the information given by the residents, there is the possibility that one more worker is stuck inside, he said.

"People here are saying that there were a total of three workers. We also saw three pairs of footwear outside the tank, so a search is on for the third worker," the official said.