Three sanitation workers died as they fell into a manhole while cleaning it in Karachi’s Usmanabad neighbourhood, Edhi officials said on Sunday.

Deaths from falling into open gutters and manholes frequently occur in Pakistan, particularly in major cities like Karachi, where poorly managed drainage systems, missing or broken covers, and inadequate lighting in congested neighbourhoods often put pedestrians in danger. The gutters are filled with toxic sewage and lack oxygen, making it easy to suffocate or drown within minutes.

“Four people fell into a drain near Siddique Wahab Road while cleaning it, three of whom lost their lives, while another remains unconscious,” the Edhi statement said.

The deceased have been identified as 22-year-old Vishal, 19-year-old Shahir, and 42-year-old George. The fourth man — identified as 26-year-old Faisal — was rushed to the Civil Hospital’s Trauma Centre, while the bodies of the deceased have been shifted to an Edhi morgue.

Police surgeon Sumaiya Syed told Dawn.com that the workers “expired in a manhole while cleaning it,” adding that the families have refused a post-mortem.

As per DIG South Syed Asad Raza, “the workers were hired by Union Council chairman Javed, and were working on the drain since 1am.” He added that, “when one of the workers lost consciousness while cleaning, two workers entered the manhole to pull him out..but both fell unconscious later.”

The workers were hired for a wage of Rs15,000, according to DIG South.

On Friday, three private sanitation workers were asphyxiated in the underground septic tank of a cattle farm in Faisalabad.

On September 11, two sanitation workers died after inhaling toxic gases while cleaning a company’s underground tank at Port Qasim, according to police and rescue service officials, while in June, five men, including a sanitation worker and two brothers, died under similar circumstances while cleaning an underground water tank in Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi.