FAISALABAD: Four workers suffocated while cleaning an 18-foot-deep sewerage line at Allama Iqbal Industrial City here on Friday.
Information was received around 4:30pm that National Logistics Cell (NLC) cleaning staff had entered a main sewerage line running from Allama Iqbal Industrial City Gate towards Green Crockery. When the workers failed to emerge, police personnel, led by ASI Mazhar Iqbal, immediately rushed to the scene.
Investigations revealed that two NLC employees, identified as Riffatullah Khan and Kifayatullah Khan, residents of Lakki Marwat, were cleaning the gutter. Due to the toxic accumulation of poisonous gases reacting with the water inside the pipeline, one of the workers fell unconscious. Seeing his deteriorating condition, the other workers raised alarm. In a desperate attempt to rescue their struggling colleagues, a sub-contractor of the NLC along with a driver named Dilawar Khan entered the manhole. The overwhelming toxic gases proved fatal for them as well. Rescue 1122 teams recovered the bodies and transported them to the Allied Hospital Faisalabad.
The Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company has launched an inquiry following the tragic incident. A committee comprising six members has been formed to probe the incident. The chief executive officer of FIEDMC has directed the committee to submit findings within seven days.
