Seven workers died of suffocation after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning an oil tanker of an edible oil packaging factory in Andhra Pradesh.
When and where? As per AP government officials, the incident occurred at 8.30 am on 9 February on the premises of Ambati Subbanna Oil Factory at Ragampeta in Peddapuram of the Kakinada district. The workers had entered a 24-feet-deep oil tanker one by one to clean it.
Who are the victims? The deceased were identified as Vechangi Krishna, Vechangi Narasimham, Vechangi Sagar, Korathadu Banji Babu, Karri Rama Rao, Prasad, and Kattamuri Jagadeesh. Of the seven workers who lost their lives, five were from Paderu and two from Peddapuram.
Had the factory flouted rules? The families of the deceased allege that the factory management failed to provide proper security gear to the workers and did not take necessary precautions, which led to the tragedy.
District Superintendent of Police, M Ravindranath Babu, said that criminal action would be taken against the management of the oil factory.
Krithika Shukla, the Kakinada district collector, said:
"A case has been registered against the factory under IPC Section 304a, which is death due to negligence. A four-member inquiry committee headed by the joint collector has been constituted, and they have been asked to submit a report within three days. The committee is currently going through the documents and approvals the factory had for running the oil packaging unit."
An ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh has been announced by the AP government for the kin of the deceased, while the factory has also been asked to give a compensation amount, an official release read.
(With inputs from Nikhila Henry)
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