Five workers, all in their 30s, died due to asphyxiation while cleaning a sludge tank at an agrotech company in Gujarat’s Kutch district in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

The incident occurred around 1 am when the workers were cleaning the effluent treatment plant of the company, Kutch (East) Superintendent of Police Sagar Bagmar said.

“When a worker entered a tank to remove sludge, he fell unconscious. Two other workers rushed inside the tank to rescue him, but they also fainted. Two more followed suit, and all five died,” Bagmar said.

A case of accidental death has been registered at Kandla police station and a probe is underway, he said.

A Kandla police station official said that the accident occurred at ‘Emami Agrotech’, a firm engaged in the production of edible oil and biodiesel. Police have identified the victims as Sidharth Tiwari, Ajmat Khan, Ashish Gupta, Ashish Kumar, and Sanjay Thakur.

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