2nd death in STP-tank cleaning incident in Powai, 3rd worker reports inhaling poisonous gases

While the tank was not technically a septic tank, a sanitation workers rights group argued that the presence of sludge in the tank indirectly made it one and called for the Manual Scavenging Act, 2013, to be applied in the FIR. The workers were employed by Ultra Tech Pvt Ltd. Neither entity responded to comments

MUMBAI: The second worker working at the sewage treatment plant (STP) tank in Raj Grandeur building in Powai died late last night. Phulchand Kumar, 28, was declared dead at 11.48 pm on Wednesday at Hiranandani Hospital while his fellow worker Akshay Mandal, 22, died earlier in the day. Both had collapsed in the tank.

iMumbai, India - November 12, 2025: Two labourers from Ultra Tech Pvt. Ltd. lost consciousness and got trapped inside the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Raj Grandeur Building, opposite Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, after reportedly inhaling toxic gases during cleaning operations in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 12 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Kumar’s body has been sent for a post-mortem. Mandal’s post-mortem was done earlier at Rajawadi and his body was sent to his village in Jharkhand on Thursday morning. The preliminary cause of his death, as stated by a doctor from Hiranandani Hospital, was “evidence of underscalp contusion with cerebral haemorrhages with congested stomach mucosa”.

While the fire brigade maintained that the death was due to a lack of oxygen in the tank, the BMC mentioned in its press note that the deaths were caused by inhalation of gases. The Powai police filed an accidental death report, and said that an inquiry was on.

While the tank was not technically a septic tank, a sanitation workers rights group argued that the presence of sludge in the tank indirectly made it one and called for the Manual Scavenging Act, 2013, to be applied in the FIR. The workers were employed by Ultra Tech Pvt Ltd. Neither entity responded to comments.

A third worker, Sudam Mandal, 22, survived to narrate what had transpired. “Akshay and I initially went into the STP tank, a job we do often,” he said. “Before going in, we had dewatered in but there was sludge remaining, and we needed to clean it. All was fine at first, but when we started spraying the jetting machine, gases and smoke began filling the tank. Our supervisor had given us cloth masks but they did not help, and we started feeling suffocated.”

Sudam managed to call his supervisor and exit the tank in time, collapsing outside. But as Akshay was still inside and unresponsive, Kadam, their supervisor, went inside to fetch him, and collapsed too. While Akshay was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, Phulchand died later in the night due to multiple organ failure according to the Loktantrik Kamgar Union. Talks regarding compensation to the deceased family from the employer were on.

After Sudam regained consciousness, he was taken to Rajawadi Hospital for a check-up. The doctor’s report, affirming the theory that poisonous gases were present in the tank, stated, “Inhalation due to poisonous gases today at a housing society, now no breathlessness.”

Feeling physically well on Thursday, Sudam said, “I have lost two people I used to work with and stayed with in Dharavi. Their loss is insurmountable.”