NEW DELHI: Five men had to be hospitalised after falling unconscious while repairing a
sewage treatment plant at a five-star hotel near Khan Market on Sunday morning.
Confirming the incident, DCP (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said a case under IPC has been registered.
The incident occurred at 11.45am at
Ambassador Hotel on Subramaniam Bharti Marg. The hotel management wanted a leak in the sewage treatment plant located at its basement repaired. A
private company contracted for the job sent three men.
As plumbers Nityanand (51) and Ravinder (40) went into the room and opened the sewage hatchet, they started feeling uncomfortable due to the emanating gases and reported it to their colleague Kamdev Patra (58) who was standing outside. Patra also fell dizzy and dropped down unconscious along with his colleagues. Their calls for help were heard by the hotel’s security guard Vikram (26) and deputy chief engineer Gaurav Sukheja (34). As the two went in, they also started feeling dizzy and tried to return but passed out. But before that, they managed to radio other hotel staff.
The hotel alerted the fire brigade and police. Chief fire officer
Atul Garg said the call came at 11.50am. “Four fire tenders and a water bauser was sent to the spot and the
five men were rescued successfully,” Garg said. The men were then admitted to three different hospitals where they are now stable.
Assistant division officer Ved Pal, who was the first to respond, said the three plumbers had froth coming out of their mouth. “I went in there with two more men and we successfully pulled out all the five people within 15 minutes. The gas was strong and sewage water had also entered the area,” Pal said.
“The hotel staff immediately responded to the incident by activating approved safety protocols to alert the authorities and provide full medical assistance. The hotel staff are currently providing support to the families of those affected,” said a company spokesperson, adding that the incident didn’t affect hotel operations.
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