VEHARI: Six people, including three Mailsi Tehsil Municipal administration employees, died after being suffocated in a sewage disposal well situated at Jallah-Jeem Union Council on Sunday, some 50km from here.

According to local sources, the turbine of the sewage disposal well went out of order. Naseer Ahmed, the in charge of the disposal station, went down the well to repair the turbine, but passed out because of suffocation caused by fumes emanating from the sewage.

After receiving no response from Naseer, two other TMA employees went down, along with three hired labourers, to save him. However, all of them fainted due to the accumulated sewage fumes in the well.

The situation was reported to Rescue 1122 service personnel who arrived on the spot and brought all the six men out. Out of them, three died on the spot, while the rest of them expired at the Jallah-Jeem Rural Health Centre (RHC).

Those who died were; disposal station in charge Naseer Ahmed, Grade-IV TMA employees Rao Akram and Tahir Mubeen and three labourers Iqbal, Fiaz and Moeen. All of them belonged to the Jallah Jeem.

According to Rescue 1122 media co-coordinator Waqas Anwer, another labourer, Aslam, who had also went down the well, was rescued.

Mailsi’s former TMO Mian Azher told Dawn that due to Easter and weekly holiday on Sunday all the TMA sewer men were on leave. In the absence of the sewer men, the TMA employees tried to repair the disposal turbine on their own, resulting in the tragic incident.

PROTEST: Vehari District Coordination Officer Jawad Akram suspended from service Jallah Jeem RHC staff, including three doctors, allegedly for showing negligence in treating the three fainted men, following protest and road blockade by locals and relatives of the deceased people.

Those suspended include RHC in charge Dr Fazil, Dr Atta Zafar, a lady doctor, ambulance driver Manzoor.

The DCO also ordered a probe into the incident.

Following the incident, relatives of the deceased, along with locals, staged a demonstration in front of the RHC and raised slogans against the on-duty staff.

The protesters alleged the three people who were brought fainted to the RHC died due to doctors’ negligence.

The protesters burnt the furniture of the RHC and the nearby residence of Dr Fazil. They also pelted the buildings with stones.

Later, they blocked Mailsi-Jallah Jeem road for six hours.

The protesters demanded registration of a murder case against the RHC staff. The police used teargas shells and resorted to baton-charge to disperse the protesters who refused to budge.

However, they dispersed following assurances given by Multan Regional Police Officer Amin Wains and Vehari District Police Officer Sadiq Ali Dogar that those responsible for the deaths would be nabbed.

The DPO told Dawn that the situation was under control. He said that strict action according to law would be taken against those responsible for the deaths.

The Rescue 1122 personnel claimed that when their team reached the spot from Vehari, three people had already died, while the others had passed out who later expired at the RHC.

The bodies were handed over to bereaved families after autopsies at Mailsi THQ Hospital.