Nine people die in gas-filled wells in Chhattisgarh twin tragedies

RAIPUR: Nine persons suffocated to death when they entered gas-filled wells in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa and Korba districts to save each other.
Among the dead in the twin tragedies are a father and two sons, and four members of another family, including a minor girl. The govt has announced Rs 9 lakh compensation per victim.
In Janjgir Champa’s Kikirda village, 160km from Raipur, the well wasn’t in use and had been covered up for years, said officials.Toxic gases had accumulated during this time, turning it into a death chamber. It was sealed with a wooden board, which had been tossed aside during a recent thunderstorm.
While trying to cover it up again, farmer Ramchandra Jayaswal, 60, saw a small wooden slab inside the well, and decided to remove it. He climbed into the 40-ft-deep well, and never came back up.
Half an hour later, when there was no sign of him, some family members tried to investigate and climbed a short way down the well. They saw he was floating unconscious in the slimy, smelly water, and shouted for help.
Ramchandra’s friend and neighbour, 50-year-old Ramesh Patel, rushed to the rescue and clambered down the well. He didn’t return, either. Alarmed, Patel’s sons Rajendra, 20, and Jitendra, 25, went in after him and were also overcome by poisonous gases.
The bodies lay in a heap but it didn’t deter another neighbour, 25-year-old Tikeshwar Chandra, from risking his life to save them. He too was killed by the fumes.
The whole village was in shock. Despite the deaths, there were still some people in the close-knit community willing to launch a rescue effort but they were held back by the elders.
Police and the administration were informed. SDERF personnel entered the well wearing gas masks and retrieved the bodies, SP Vivek Shukla said.
Tikeshwar was married only three months ago and it was his wife’s birthday. She is inconsolable and unable to speak. Jitendra Patel, who was a farmer, is survived by his wife and a five-month old baby.
A few hours later, 120km away, these same tragic scenes were repeated in Korba’s Jurali village.
Jahru Patel, 60, slipped into the well and called for help. His 16-year-old daughter, Sapna, jumped into it in a bid to save him, but she gasped to death along with her father. Seeing them lying unresponsive in the well, two other family members, Manbodh, 57, and Shivcharan, 45, climbed down to save them, but they too were asphyxiated.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai extended his condolences and said his govt is fully committed to providing all possible assistance to the bereaving families.
Police suspect gases like methane and carbon monoxide may have accumulated in the abandoned wells and oxygen would have depleted, due to which the victims were rapidly overcome. Water and gas samples from both wells have been collected and the reports are awaited. The bodies have been sent for autopsy.