Three workers at a Tata facility manufacturing components for Apple iPhones died of asphyxiation during a water tank maintenance operation in Tamil Nadu.
Sources who spoke to Reuters said that the three workers were carrying out cleaning and maintenance work inside a nano-filtration feed tank at Tata Electronics Private Limited near Udanapalli in Krishnagiri district on Monday evening.
The incident took place at around 5.10 pm at the company’s Marie Gold factory near the Ullukurukkai village.
Police said that the workers were clearing a Nano Filter Tank which received wastewater discharged from BMB-3. The work is reportedly scheduled once every two months on a rotational basis.
The deceased were identified as Sarathi Kumar, 28, Akmal Babu Bhai, 28, and Kaveri, 30. They were all contract workers employed through NALCO, a contractor, and were from different villages in the Dharmapuri district.
Police said that Akmal first climbed onto the tank and opened its lid for inspection. However, the toxic gas emanating from the tanks affected him and caused him to fall inside.
While attempting to rescue Akmal, Sarati Kumar also fell into the tank. Kaveri, who then alerted the factory’s safety team, also attempted to rescue the two men but was similarly affected and fell inside.
The factory’s safety team the rescued the three workers, and they moved them to an occupational health care centre, where they were administered first aid.
They were then taken to a private hospital in Hosur via ambulance. However, doctors declared all three dead on arrival.
Police officials arrived at the scene and launched an investigation.
The bodies were sent to the government medical college hospital in Krishnagiri for a post-mortem.
The deaths have raised concerns about the safety protocols followed during the cleaning of industrial wastewater tanks.
Tamil Nadu's Industries Minister VirudhaiMagal Keerthana has condoled the death of the workers and assured an investigation into the matter. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of three precious lives in this tragic incident at the Tata Electronics unit in Hosur," she said.
"The safety and dignity of every worker must remain paramount. This tragic incident will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings. We must ensure that every necessary measure is put in place to prevent such tragedies from recurring," she added.
Tata Electronics has not issued a statement on the accident.
Reuters’ source said that Apple is set to investigate the incident.
