Techie faints while checking leak in tank; 2 techies rush to help; all 3 die

News Network
July 12, 2018

Bengaluru, Jul 12: In a heartrending incident, three young technical engineers lost their lives due to asphyxiation when they were checking a leak in a water tank at a chemical factory in Harohalli industrial area on Kanakapura Road.

The police gave the names of the victims as Lokesh Krishnappa (31), a native of Kolar; Mahesh Shivamallegowda (28), a resident of Gottahalli in Harohalli; and Saravana Manohar (24), who hailed from Tamil Nadu. Their colleague Arivalagan was admitted to a hospital where his condition is said to be critical.

The tragedy took place at the Unit-2 of Anthem BioSciences Private Limited, a manufacturer of medical products located near Bannikuppe village in Kanakapura taluk in Ramnagaram district around 10.30 pm on Tuesday.

The large stainless steel water tank was circular in shape and had a diameter of 3 metres, police said.

Lokesh, who works as an engineer, entered the tank using a ladder to check for the leak and collapsed inside the tank. On seeing him unconscious, Mahesh and Saravana entered the tank and passed out. Arivalagan also fainted while half-way into the tank, but was rescued by workers who rushed him to the hospital.

Following information from a company staffer, police got to the spot and began inquiries. They suspect the deaths had happened due to asphyxiation as there was no oxygen inside the tank.

Workers entered the tank wearing masks and retrieved the bodies, the police said. The bodies were shifted to the Victoria Hospital for post-mortem on Wednesday.

The victims who fell unconscious had bitten their tongue. In all, 20 workers were on the nightshift.

News of the deaths triggered panic among workers, including a few relatives of the victims who blamed the deaths on toxic fumes from a chemical reactor. But the management rubbished the allegations, insisting that lack of oxygen in the tank had caused the deaths.

The Harohalli police accused the management of the company for failing to follow safety procedures to protect their employees. They registered an FIR against unknown persons of the company management under IPC section 304-A – accidental death caused by negligence. Further investigations are underway.

Comments

Javed Hashir
 - 
Thursday, 12 Jul 2018

Work permit system for confined space entry and employees adherence to the system could have prevented this accident. 

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News Network
July 6,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 6: Karnataka government has revised quarantine norms according to which those entering the State from other states, including from Maharashtra, shall be placed in 14-days home quarantine.

Until now, the state government had issued that those returning from Maharashtra are to be placed under 7-day institutional quarantine followed by 7-day home quarantine.

A fresh state government order with the subject line "Regulation of movement of persons from other States to Karnataka" reads: "Whereas the State Government vide Order dated June 30, issued unlock 2 guidelines which permit reopening of more activities in a calibrated manner, in areas outside the Containment Zones, and to extend lockdown in Containment Zone upto July 31. The guidelines also permit unrestricted interstate movement of persons and goods adhering to the SOPs/ Guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Department of Revenue (Disaster Management)".

Whereas, the Department of Health and Family Welfare issued revised SOP for the moment of persons from other State to Karnataka vide document dated June 8, this year, further, quarantine norms were modified vide Orders of even number dated June 15 and June 26.

"The quarantine norms are regularly reviewed and calibrated with the prevailing Unlock 2 guidelines and infusion of technology and community involvement to enforce the strict home quarantine. In light of the above, the quarantine norms issued vide Order dated June 26, has been further modified and is follows--Persons coming from other State to Karnataka, including Maharashtra shall be placed in 14-days Home Quarantine," the order read.

"The other conditions as specified in the Order dated June 15 and aforementioned SOP enclosed issued on June 8 by the Department of Health and Family Welfare shall continue to be in force until further orders," it added.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 7,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 7: Coronavirus surge in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi today at 411  with with Udupi tallying 245 fresh cases and DK 166. 

A dozen deaths also reported from the twin districts. While DK reported seven fatalities, Udupi recorded five deaths. 

With this, Dakshina Kannada district's Covid-19 tally increased to 6,881 and the total number of deaths increased to 208. 

While the district has 3,369 active cases as on date, the day also saw 188 people getting discharged from hospitals. As many as 3,304 persons were discharged in the district so far. 

Out of seven deaths reported in Dakshina Kannada on Friday, five were from Mangaluru taluk and one each from Puttur and Belthangady taluks.

Meanwhile, out of 245 new coronavirus cases reported in Udupi on Friday, 175 are asymptomatic and 86 have no specific contact history. With this, the total number of cases in Udupi increased to 5,605, which includes 2,292 active cases. 

Udupi also reported five fatalities including a female victim, taking the district’s death toll to 55. Udupi deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha said all the five victims were also suffering from various comorbidities. Udupi district has collected Rs 1,43,300 as penalty from people for violating rules related to social distancing and mask till August 6.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Bengaluru, May 18: A large number of people in India are planning inter-city bus travel within a month of the lifting of travel restrictions, according to a randomised online survey of over 10,300 customers of redBus, India's largest online bus ticketing platform.

Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents are planning to travel within a month post the lockdown. However, there is a high standard of expectation on the implementation of measures to make buses safe for travel with over 79 per cent wanting deep cleaning and sanitisation of buses after every trip.

Hand sanitisers, mandatory masks and temperature screening for all passengers are next in expectations for bus travel. Over 78 per cent of the respondents want the implementation of hygienic conditions at boarding points and 70 per cent want social distancing protocols to be implemented at boarding points.

"The survey does underscore the fact that given the adherence to safety protocols, bus travel is possibly one of the safest options for travel since the number of travellers are fewer, checks can be done individually and the whole factor of pick up and drop as close to home as possible minimises the number of contacts throughout the journey," said redBus Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

In addition, online booking further reduces the number of contact points as people can book bus tickets directly from their home. Further, there is a heightened awareness of personal hygiene and safety measures which is important for the travel to be safe.

"The large number of people waiting to travel not only points to the need but also the importance it has for the revival of economic activity as very few of them would be travelling for leisure," said Sangam.

The survey also showed that passengers put a very high consideration on hygiene, sanitation and disinfection -- over 73 per cent -- and social distancing (63 per cent) and much lower consideration to traditional factors such as travel cost (22 per cent), comfort (21 per cent) and punctuality (18 per cent).

The survey was conducted among redBus customers across India. Only 5 per cent of the respondents were willing to postpone their travel to over six months while the rest had plans to travel within that period.

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