Bhagalpur: Three members of a family, including a couple, died due to asphyxiation inside the septic tank of their house in Mohdinagar locality under the Jagdishpur police station area in Bhagalpur district on Saturday.
The victims were identified as Punit Yadav (33), his wife Sakho Devi (33) and 42-year-old Dinanath alias Dinesh Yadav. Punit and Sakho Devi had six children while Dinesh Yadav, one of their distant relatives, had four. The families lived next to each other in the same neighbourhood.
The incident occurred when Punit slipped into the septic tank while attempting to retrieve an iron chisel that had fallen into it during repair work. Sakho and Dinesh also fell into the tank while trying to rescue him as he began to drown.
Shatrughan Kumar, a local and representative of the mukhiya of Chandpur panchayat under Jagdishpur block, who rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident, said, “All three died within 15 minutes of the incident. Unfortunately, they were suffocated by the toxic gas accumulated inside the septic tank and the low oxygen levels before anyone could reach them.”