2 Suffocate To Death After Inhaling Toxic Chemical In Mumbai Public Toilet

Two men suffocated to death on Sunday after allegedly inhaling a toxic chemical inside a public toilet in suburban Mumbai, civic officials said.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, the incident occurred in the early hours at a public toilet near the Parsi Panchayat Gate close to Mrunaltai Bridge in the Ram Mandir East area.

The fire brigade, police, 108 Ambulance services, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and civic ward staff rushed to the scene, they said.

The victims, Prabhakar Dhanivar (24) and Bhavin Desai (18), were rushed to a nearby civic-run hospital, where doctors declared them dead around 3.45 am, an official said.

Locals claimed that the two men suffered suffocation after a strong chemical smell emanated inside the public toilet, he said, adding that the exact nature and source of the suspected chemical leak were not immediately known and further details are awaited.

There have been many similar deaths due to suffocation in Mumbai in the last few years.

In March last year, four labourers died of suffocation while cleaning a water tank in an under-construction building in south Mumbai.

In March 2022, three sanitation workers died while cleaning a septic tank in Mumbai's Kandivali area.

In December 2019, three sanitation workers died due to suffocation after getting trapped in a septic tank they were cleaning in Mumbai's Govandi area.

Three contract labourers died of suffocation from inhaling toxic gases while cleaning a sewage treatment plant chamber in Mira Road in January, 2019.

Officials had attributed the deaths to suffocation and lack of safety gear. In a similar incident just days earlier, three people died in a manhole in Panvel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)