A 47-year-old man died of asphyxiation, while cleaning a septic tank belonging to a private tannery unit at V.C. Mottur village near Ranipet town.

Police said two others who went inside the tank are being treated at a private hospital in Vellore.

The deceased has been identified as S. Raman, a resident of V.C. Mottur village. Initial inquiry revealed that Raman was engaged to clean the 15-feet-deep septic tank in the tannery unit along with his co-worker B. Kumar, 38, also a resident of V.C. Mottur village. 

The duo was engaged to clean the tank by tannery owner Rias Ahmed, 44, who was supervising the work at the time of the incident.

Police said that the victim was assigned to remove the silt in the tank. However, there was no response from him after he went inside the tank. He had collapsed inside.

Since he did not respond, Kumar and Ahmad tried to go inside the tank but they fell unconscious. Immediately, a few staff at the unit alerted fire fighters and Ranipet Town police, who came to the spot.

All three of them were rushed to Government Taluk Hospital in Walajah town.

Doctors at the hospital said that Raman was brought dead while co-worker Kumar and Ahmad were shifted to a private hospital in Vellore. Police said that the condition of Kumar is improving while the health of Ahmed is still under observation.

A case has been filed by Ranipet police under Section 105 (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under the provisions of The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. A probe is under way.