Two villagers die of suffocation inside well in Koderma

Koderma: Two persons died of suffocation inside a well in Koderma while attempting to retrieve a diesel pump set that fell in late on Thursday night, police said on Friday.

The incident occurred at Purnanagar village under the Nawalshahi police station. The deceased were identified as Bahadur Rana (30) and Surendra Sao (32), both residents of the same village.

According to police, the duo went to recover a diesel pump set used for irrigation, which accidentally fell into the well. Around 9 pm, they descended into the well using ropes. However, when they failed to return after a long time, those present nearby grew suspicious and approached the well, only to find the youths lying unconscious inside.

In a desperate rescue attempt, four villagers entered the well to retrieve them. Upon entering, they immediately experienced difficulty in breathing and began signalling for help. They were quickly pulled out, and later revealed that the well contained only waist-deep water but was filled with toxic gas, likely caused by diesel leakage from the submerged pump set. After much effort, the duo were pulled out.

The unconscious youths were then rushed to sadar hospital where doctors declared both of them brought dead. One of the rescuers, Karu Rana, is currently undergoing treatment at sadar hospital.

A postmortem was conducted on Friday, and the bodies were handed over to the family members, said Shashi Bhushan Kumar, the officer-in-charge of Nawalshahi police station. He said an unnatural death case was registered in this regard.