Bhubaneswar: Three labourers from neighbouring West Bengal died of asphyxiation inside a water sump of an under-construction building near Pandra area under Mancheswar Police station limits on the outskirts of the city Friday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified as Bhriguram Mandal, Simran Munian and Basudev Mandal of Khejuri in East Medinapur district of West Bengal.
The owner of the building Srikant Mahant, who works in Angul, had engaged a contractor from Gajapati in Ganjam district for the construction of the building. As the contractor resides in Ganjam, the work here was being supervised by the deceased Basudev. The workers were staying in a temporary shed near the under-construction building for the last few days.
According to sources, one of the workers had gone down inside the sump to remove the false ceiling frames, but died of suffocation. The other two workers went inside the sump to save the first worker, but they too died of asphyxiation.
When another group of workers engaged in another side of the building found the trio missing they launched a search for them and found them dead inside the water sump. They immediately informed the matter to labourers working in the nearby buildings and summoned the fire-fighting department. The bodies were recovered by the Fire Services officials.
The trio was rushed to the Capital Hospital where the doctors declared them ‘brought dead’. The bodies were kept at the mortuary of the hospital as their family members are yet to reach Bhubaneswar. On learning about the incident, the Mancheswar police arrived at the spot and began investigating the matter. The owner of the building as well as the contractor is expected to reach the City late Friday evening.