A 40-year-old Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) worker died on Friday after the slab of a septic tank collapsed and trapped him inside. He was trapped along with the debris and the tractor inside the tank.
The incident took place at Hafeezpet at around 2 pm.
Venkatesh, the deceased, was unloading debris from the tractor. He was on the tractor’s trolley with the debris when the tractor reversed and stepped on the septic tank. The slab of the tank collapsed due to the weight of the tractor. As a result, Venkatesh fell into it along with the debris and the trolley.
The GHMC workers were dumping debris in the septic tank, which was not in use.
The panic-stricken workers immediately alerted the police and tried to rescue Venkatesh. However, as they had to clear the debris and pull out the tractor, police and the GHMC workers had to toil for nearly five hours.
However, he had succumbed by then. Miyapur police booked a case and shifted the body to Gandhi hospital in Musheerabad.
Miyapur ACP Ravi Kumar told Deccan Chronicle that the tractor almost fell 15 feet deep.
Venkatesh was a native of Warangal, residing in Miyapur for 10 years with his family. He is survived by his wife and two children. One of the sons collapsed after learning about his father’s death, reported DC.
There are several instances of accident-related deaths of GHMC workers while at work, as they are given dangerous tasks but not any safety equipment.
Last year in September, a GHMC worker died after falling from tree in Chilkalguda, while he was chopping the branches. The victim was making a clear path for the Ganesh Chaturthi processions. However, while chopping the branches, he accidently fell and succumbed since there was no safety equipment.
In 2014, a similar incident had occurred when a GHMC worker died while cleaning a drainage at Kerala Colony in Kukatpally. The worker had drowned in the drainage as there was heavy flow of water in it.