Bhubaneswar: Three workers died in a suspected gas leak while cleaning a pipeline at a steel and sponge iron plant in Angul district late on Monday night, officials said on Tuesday.The victims were rushed to Hindol sub-divisional hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead. The deceased were identified as Sridhar Begun (37) and Mantu Kamar (37) of Trikuda village, and Mangala Majhi (40) of Sunakhani village in Rajgangpur of Sundergarh district.Doctors at the hospital said the workers appeared to have died due to suffocation. The incident reportedly occurred on the plant side of the sponge iron unit following a suspected gas leakage.According to sources, around six workers were engaged in pipeline cleaning work when the mishap took place. Three workers allegedly fell ill after inhaling the gas. While three of them succumbed, the remaining workers were rescued by the factory’s in-house rescue team and are stated to be safe.Inspector-in-charge of Nisha Industrial police station, Biswambar Pradhan, said preliminary inquiry revealed that the workers were cleaning a pipe carrying sponge iron when three of them suddenly collapsed.“An investigation has been initiated to ascertain the exact cause of death and whether there was any lapse in safety measures,” he said. The management of the sponge iron plant was yet to issue any official statement on the incident till late Tuesday evening.Police said further action would be taken based on post-mortem reports and findings of the investigation. “Things will be clear only after the autopsy report and on-ground investigation at the plant site,” the police said.
