KARACHI: Two sanitation workers died after inhaling toxic gases in a manhole of a private firm located in the industrial area of Port Qasim on Saturday, police said.

The Bin Qasim police said that two labourers went inside a sewer to clean it. However, they became unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes accumulated in the manhole.

They were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

Chhipa Welfare Organisation identified the victims as 26-year-old Amjad Akhtar and 24-year-old Qadeer Naeem.

Earlier in January, two sanitation workers had met a similar fate in Gulistan-i-Jauhar while cleaning the sewerage line of a housing complex near Habib University.

The latest incident highlighted safety concerns for sanitation workers as officials said in almost every case the sanitation workers had entered the underground sewer or tank without wearing proper safety gear.

Labour bodies and rights activists have long been stressing the need of using machines and equipment in order to eliminate manual cleaning of sewerage lines and gutters and where manual work is necessary calling for provision of safety equipment and precautions.

Man wounded by robbers

A young man was shot at and wounded by armed robbers near UP Mor on Saturday, police said.

The Sir Syed police said Muhammad Sani Qureshi, 20, was intercepted by the muggers who held him at gunpoint and demanded his cell phone and cash. When he resisted, the robbers shot him and rode away.

He was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment, the police said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2024