Seven workers of an oil factory died of asphyxiation after they entered an oil tanker for cleaning in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district on Thursday morning, police said.
According to the police, the workers got into the oil tanker, which was emptied on Wednesday, to clean it. “It is a common practice for workers to clean the oil tankers periodically after emptying them. On Thursday morning, too, the workers entered the tanker to clean it,” the police official said.
Confirming the development, Kakinada superintendent of police M Raveendrananth Babu said initially two workers had entered into the tank, however, they died of suffocation. “Later, five others who entered the tank one after the other also died due to asphyxiation,” he said.
They could not come out immediately, as they fell unconscious within seconds, said the SP. The deceased were identified as: Vechangi Krishna (35), Vechangi Narasinga Rao (38), Vechangi Sagar (20), Kuratadu Bonju Babu (34), Korra Rama Rao (45), Kattamuri Jagadeesh and Prasad (27).
“When they did not come out even after an hour, other workers went to check in on them and found them in an unconscious state. They alerted the management, who got the tanker dismantled. But by then, all seven workers had died,” the police official said.
After coming to know about the incident, the Peddapuram police rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies to the local hospital for autopsy.
The SP said criminal action would be taken against the factory management . “A case has been filed under Section 304A (death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code,” he said. State home minister Taneti Vanitha expressed shock over the tragedy. She said the state government would pay a compensation of ₹25 lakh each to the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, Kakinada district collector Krithika Shukla told the reporters that the factory had been sealed and an inquiry had been ordered for which a four-member committee has been set up. The committee will be headed by the joint collector, Shukla said. “The committee has been asked to submit a report within three days on whether the factory authorities were guilty of negligence,” Shukla said.
The incident took place at Ambati Subbanna and Company Oil Mills at G Ragampet village of Peddapuram block, which manufactures the popular AS brand vegetable oil. The tank was dismantled to retrieve bodies of the victims, police added.
