Toxic fumes kill three sanitary workers in sewer

Three men, including a father and son, died while cleaning a manhole in the Garden Usmanabad area of Karachi on Sunday.

According to police and eyewitnesses, two sanitation workers fell into a deep gutter one after the other while attempting to clean it on Siddique Wahab Road, Usmanabad. A third man, who tried to rescue them, also died.

Rescuers said a team from the Edhi Foundation launched an operation soon after the incident was reported. The first body recovered was of 22-year-old Vishal, son of George. Later, two more bodies were pulled out and identified as 19-year-old Shahid, son of Khurshid, and 42-year-old George.

The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital's Trauma Centre. A fourth man, 26-year-old Faisal, who also attempted to rescue the victims, was retrieved from the gutter in a semi-conscious state and moved to the Civil Hospital for treatment.

The SHO of Garden police station said the deaths were caused by suffocation due to toxic gases inside the sewer. "One worker fell unconscious, and the second collapsed while trying to help him. Of the two rescuers, one also suffocated to death while the other survived," he added.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while expressing grief over the deaths of three sanitation workers during sewer cleaning in the Garden area, he said such individuals perform one of the most difficult and hazardous jobs. He termed them valuable members of society and ordered full medical treatment for a worker who was shifted to the hospital in critical condition.