Chhattisgarh: Three killed after entering well, poisonous gas inhalation suspected

Bemetara, Jul 27 (PTI) Three people died due to suspected inhalation of poisonous gas after they entered a well in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon in Kua village under Navagarh development block area and the State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) was engaged to fish out the bodies, Bemetara Additional Superintendent of Police Jyoti Singh said.

The deceased have been identified as Aatmaram Sahu (55), Ramkumar Dhruv (45) and Rakesh Sahu (25), she said.

As per preliminary information, Aatmaram entered the well to do some work related to the motor pump-pipe connection and fainted. After he fell into the water, his relatives present there shouted for help prompting two others to enter the water body, she said.

When nobody came out, locals alerted the police and administration, the official said.

A team of SDRF was called from Bhilai in neighbouring Durg district for the rescue operation, she added.

Officials suspect all three died after inhaling some poisonous gas inside the well.

However, the exact cause of death will be known after the post-mortem of the bodies and forensic examination, they said.

On July 5, nine people, including a 16-year-old girl, died due to suspected inhalation of poisonous gases inside wells in two different incidents in the state.

While five persons, including a man and his two sons, lost their lives in a well in the Janjgir-Champa district, a father-daughter duo and two others died in a similar incident in neighbouring Korba district, police had said.