Two die after inhaling toxic gas in Corporation’s drainage sump in Kodungaiyur
Two men died from toxic gas inhalation while performing maintenance on a drainage sump in Chennai, India. The incident has sparked criticism regarding the lack of safety protocols and the failure to use available mechanized equipment for hazardous tasks.
Why it matters
The tragedy underscores systemic failures in occupational safety and the enforcement of labor regulations in municipal infrastructure maintenance.
Two men, including an engineer, died after allegedly inhaling toxic gas while repairing an electric motor inside a 20-foot-deep stormwater drainage sump maintained by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Thendral Nagar Third Street in Kodungaiyur on Monday.
The two men, Asmath Basha, 38, an engineer hailing from Vellore district, and Naveen Kumar, 34, a resident of West Tambaram, were employed by Savariya Motors, a private firm contracted by the GCC to repair the motor, entered the sump after one of the two motors installed there developed a fault.
The sump collects excess rainwater from the stormwater channel, which is then pumped out using electric motors. The police said that Naveen Kumar entered the sump to attend to the faulty motor around 3 p.m., but he fell unconscious. Basha then entered the sump in an attempt to rescue him. Both were asphyxiated.
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