Four die after inhaling toxic gases inside drainage chamber in Pune district

PUNE: Four people, including a father-son duo died after inhaling toxic gases inside a drainage chamber near their cattle shed in Khandaj village in Baramati taluka, about 110km from Pune on Monday.
The accident happened around 11.30am when 28-year-old Pravin Atole entered the chamber to clean it.

An officer of the Malegaon police station said that cattle waste was released in the chamber located on the farm of Bhanudas Atole, one of the deceased persons.
"When he did not come up, his father Bhanudas Atole (55) entered the chamber. When the duo did not return, Pravin's cousin Prakash Atole (35) and their neighbour Baba Gavhane (55) went inside the chamber one by one and all of them passed out and fell in the water accumulated inside," the officer told TOI.
Police said that when the four men did not return, their relatives raised an alarm.
"They dismantled the chamber by using an earth-moving machine and pulled them out. They were immediately taken to a hospital in Baramati, where they were pronounced dead by the doctors," police said.
Police said that prima facie probe revealed that the victims may have inhaled toxic gases, which were formed due to cow dung and urine, which was released in the chamber.