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5 killed after inhaling suspected toxic gas inside well in Chhattisgarh: Police
Five people died from inhaling toxic gas in a well in Chhattisgarh. They entered to rescue one person who fainted. Authorities suspect poisonous gas as the cause. Chief Minister announced Rs.5 lakh ex gratia for each family.
Raipur: Five people were killed after inhaling suspected toxic gas inside a well in Janjgir-Champa district in Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said. The incident took place Friday morning in Kikirda village under the Birra police station area.
Police have identified the deceased as Ramchandra Jaiswal, Ramesh Patel, Rajendra Patel, Jitendra Patel and Tikeshwar Chandra.
Speaking to the media, inspector general of police (Bilaspur Range), Sanjeev Shukla, said that as per preliminary information, Jaiswal entered the well to take out a wooden strip after it fell into it.
When he fainted, his family members shouted for help, and three others (Ramesh Patel, Rajendra Patel and Jitendra Patel) jumped to save him, Shukla added.
The IG said that when all four did not come out, Chandra entered the well, but he also became unconscious.
He added that the locals alerted the police about the incident, following which a team of State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) was deployed.
The SDRF team fished out five bodies from the well, said the IG.
Prima facie it seems that they died after inhaling some poisonous gas inside the well, IG Shukla said, adding that further probe is underway.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the incident and announced Rs.5 lakh ex gratia the families of the deceased.
The CM on his official X handle wrote, “It has been reported that five people tragically lost their lives due to poisonous gas inside a well in Kikirda village of Janjgir. I announce financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased in this incident.”
Sai further stated that the government is fully committed to providing all possible assistance to the families of the victims.
