Hyderabad, Feb 17 (DHNS): Seven daily wage workers died of suffocation in an underground storage tank they were cleaning at a poultry farm in Moram village of Palamaneru block of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning. The tragedy took place at the Venkateswara hatcheries.

According to police, four workers entered the underground tank where the waste water is stored. The company gets the tank cleaned once in six months. One of the workers fainted due to asphyxiation and died on the spot. Three others also fell unconscious. Another batch of four including the supervisor who went inside out too fainted.

The villagers, who rushed to the spot, tried to rescue the workers by removing the ceiling of the tank. Three workers died on the way to the Palamaneru government hospital and three more died undergoing treatment. The deceased were identified as Govinda Raju, Venkata Raju, Babu, Ramachandra, Kesava, Reddappa, and Ramesh. They were from different villages in Palamaner block. Supervisor Siva sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at Palamaner area hospital.

Police said that the supervisor on duty failed to assess the danger of poisonous gasses that could be produced by putrefying biological material in a closed environment before sending workers into the tank. A case of causing deaths by negligence has been registered. Police said the plant manager escaped immediately after the incident.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Kamineni Srinivas has directed district officials to shift the injured to Tirupati hospital for better treatment. YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has expressed shock over the tragedy.