Daijiworld Media Network – Nabarangpur

Nabarangpur, Jun 3: In a heart-wrenching incident, three sanitation workers and a passerby died of suffocation after inhaling toxic gases from a septic tank in Padalguda village, Nandahandi block of Odisha's Nabarangpur district on Tuesday.

The workers were removing the central slab of a newly built 10×10 feet septic tank when two of them began to choke. A third worker entered to help but also collapsed. Hearing their cries, a passerby jumped in to rescue them but met the same fate.

Fire personnel managed to retrieve all four victims. The workers were declared dead at the Nabarangpur District Headquarters Hospital, while the passerby succumbed in the ICU.

Locals alleged the workers lacked any safety gear or oxygen support. Police have launched an investigation, with forensic and post-mortem reports awaited.

The tragedy highlights the ongoing risks of hazardous manual scavenging. As per Union Social Justice Ministry data, India still employs over 79,700 sewer and septic tank workers. Despite the launch of the NAMASTE programme in 2023-24 to mechanise sanitation work, fatal accidents continue—453 deaths were reported from 2018 to 2023 alone.