Mystery death: Three die inside pit, police suspect asphyxiation

Kolkata: Three contractual labourers died of asphyxiation after they went inside an old pit to clear the garbage.

The incident took place in Nayabad area of Rasapunj at Bishnupur block of South 24-Parganas on Monday morning. The incident spread panic among locals. They told police that the incident took place within a span of 45 minutes.

The victims have been identified as Swapan Bose, Nabab Ali Seikh and Noor Seikh. The victims were all aged between 25-30, police said. They were residents of Deuli under Mograhat under the same district.

Locals said the victims had come to clean the old pit which had been lying abandoned for a long time. The owner of the land brought these three contractual labourers for cleaning the pit.

At around 10 am on Monday, one of the victims went down to clean the garbage inside the pit which is 15 feet high. The victim stopped responding after a few minutes. On seeing this, another worker went inside the pit. Soon after he went inside, there was no trace of both the victims.

Both the incidents took place in quick succession. As the duo did not come out, the third labourer went inside only to face the same fate.

Locals reported the matter to the local police who in turn rushed to the spot.

The disaster management forces and fire personnel were also brought in. They started the rescue operation with the help of locals. They recovered the three victims one after the other. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead.

According to preliminary investigation, police and fire department officials suspect that the victims died after inhaling some poisonous gas. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem which would help police to ascertain the exact cause of their death.

According to preliminary investigation, police came to know that the pit was dug around twenty years ago and it was lying abandoned for a long time. A specific complaint has been lodged against land owner Manoranjan Naskar. Police may arrest the owner as they have found some lapses on his part. A detailed probe has been initiated.