Bhubaneswar, June 3: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday expressed profound grief over the death of four labourers who lost their lives due to suffocation inside a septic tank in Nabarangpur district.
Conveying his condolences to the bereaved families, the Chief Minister announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).
The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday morning at Padalguda village under Nandahandi block, where four labourers died while engaged in construction work of a septic tank.
The deceased have been identified as N. Santu (33), Amir Khara (31), Lalu Rana (32), and Trilochana Bhatra (30), all residents of the same block.
According to local sources, the labourers had gone to the residence of one Mohan Nag in Padalguda to remove centring and drain water from an under-construction septic tank. Bhatra and Rana reportedly entered the tank first and failed to come out. In an attempt to rescue them, Santu and Khara also descended into the tank but met the same fate.
Following the alert, police and fire services personnel reached the site and rescued the workers, who were in a critical state. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival. The bodies were handed over to the families after the post-mortem.
Police said the exact cause of death will be determined after receiving the autopsy report.
