Kathmandu, August 2

Two siblings died of suffocation while cleaning underground utility pipes laid by Melamchi Drinking Water Project in Balaju today.

The two, Suresh Shah, 25, and Shivakant Shah, 20, permanent residents of Kanpatti Sambhunath Municipality, Saptari, lost their lives as they were cleaning the pipeline located in the water valve chamber 10 feet under the surface, said Bal Narshing Rana, deputy superintendent of police, Balaju.

Workers hired by the project sounded alarm at around 9:45am after the duo took time to return to the surface, said Shyam Lal Gyanwali, deputy superintendent of police, Metropolitan Police Office, Rani Pokhari. The two were later found in an unconscious state trapped between the pipe and the valve chamber. Ropes were used to rescue them.

They were rushed to Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital where the doctors declared them dead upon arrival, added Rana.

“They died of hypoxia as they were working deep under the ground,” said Rana.

The Labour Act has made it mandatory for employers to ensure safe working environment for employees. Workers should be made to follow standard procedures to ensure good health and safety at workplaces and should be provided with personal safety gears as per the need, states the act.

They should be given necessary information and training on issues of safety and health by employers, adds the act.

But the deceased, who earned Rs 30,000 each every month, were not wearing safety kit, according to Ramesh Tamang, 27, an eyewitness.

Tiresh Prasad Khatri, project director, Project Implementation Directorate, Melamchi Water Supply Project, however, claimed that safety kits were provided to workers. “We also counsel them on workplace hazards,” he claimed, adding, “It appears the workers thought they would not face any risk 10 feet under the ground and avoided the safety kit.”

The project contractor will provide compensation of Rs 1 million to the kin of each of the deceased, according to Khatri. The Labour Act has made it mandatory for employers to provide compensation to the kin of the employee who dies or gets injured at workplace.

“This is an irreparable loss. We will study the cause of the death of workers and ensure such incidents don’t occur in the future,” said Khatri.