Two workers at a meat processing plant drowned after falling into a tank filled with animal blood in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, police said on Saturday.
The freak accident occurred on Friday at the meat processing factory in Talaspur, located on the outskirts of the city, they said.
Imran (28) and Asif (25) were cleaning the tank when one of them reportedly started feeling dizzy due to the strong fumes emanating from the tank, they said.
He called for help while climbing the stairs leading into the tank and his colleague attempted to pull him out, but his hand slipped and both men fell into the tank, the police said.
While no senior plant official was present at the time of the accident, other laborers managed to pull the men out and they were rushed to a nearby hospital.
They were shifted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, but succumbed.
The victims' family members and police had arrived at the scene immediately after the incident.
Local Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders arrived at the scene and following their intervention, the victims' families reportedly reached an agreement with the factory owners regarding compensation.
Additional District Magistrate (City), Amit Kumar, informed reporters that the district magistrate has ordered a comprehensive probe into the entire incident.
“The investigation will be jointly conducted by officials from the Pollution Department and other concerned departments. The preliminary findings will guide the district authorities in deciding further action if any lapses are found on the part of the factory management," said the officer.
The factory is reportedly owned by a politician from Agra.
Meanwhile, the post-mortem report has confirmed that the cause of death for both laborers was drowning, police sources said on Saturday.
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