A tragic incident at a residential building in Powai claimed the life of a young worker and left his uncle and contractor critically injured while cleaning a sewage treatment plant on Wednesday morning. The horrific accident has once again raised questions about worker safety in hazardous environments.
The Fatal Morning in Powai
The incident occurred at approximately 10:42 am at the Raj Grand Doi building located near Hiranandani Hospital in Powai. According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, two labourers employed by Ultra Tech Pvt. Ltd. had been assigned to clean the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) when they began experiencing suffocation from inhaling toxic gases.
Local activists who assisted the victims revealed that the two labourers were related - 21-year-old Akshay Mandal and his maternal uncle Sudam Mandal, aged 22. The uncle-nephew duo, originally from Jharkhand, were residents of Sion and working together on the fateful day.
Failed Rescue Attempt Turns Tragic
Witnesses described how the situation quickly escalated when the two workers started fainting inside the STP tank. Their contractor, Phulchand Kumar Sahu (27), immediately attempted to rescue them without hesitation.
"The contractor managed to extract one person from the toxic environment, but when he went down again to rescue the second worker, he too began experiencing dizziness and weakness," explained a local activist involved in the aftermath. This heroic attempt left all three men trapped in the dangerous confined space.
Emergency Response and Aftermath
Alerted by the building's watchman, the Mumbai Fire Brigade rushed to the scene and faced significant challenges in accessing the victims. Fire officials confirmed that the STP was located in the lower basement of the 22-storey building, requiring specialized equipment for the rescue operation.
"Our team used ladders and breathing apparatus sets to enter the contaminated area and successfully rescued both trapped individuals," stated a civic official. The victims were immediately transported to Hiranandani Hospital, where Akshay Mandal was declared dead upon arrival. His uncle Sudam Mandal and contractor Phulchand Kumar Sahu remain in critical condition.
Mumbai Police have maintained that the incident does not qualify as manual scavenging under current definitions. A senior police official explained, "The building had an annual maintenance contract with the company, whose trained labourers entered the STP for routine work when they experienced suffocation." Authorities have registered an accidental death report while continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
