Four labourers from Afghanistan died after inhaling poisonous gas at a waste collection facility in Shiraz, Iran’s southern city, local officials said on Sunday.
According to Hadi Eidipour, the head of the fire service for the Shiraz municipality, four labourers from Afghanistan died when one of them was trapped inside, and others went to save him.
“The four workers engaged in waste collection activities at the Gachi village workshop entered the septic tank containing toxic gases, one after another, to save their fellow workers. Tragically, they were overcome by the gases and lost their lives,” Eidipour said.
According to Eidipour, the incident occurred in the village of Gachi on Sunday at about 9:15 a.m. local time, when rescue personnel and fire brigades were dispatched to the scene.
He said the preliminary inquiry shows five Afghan workers were reportedly trapped within a septic well at a plastic waste collection centre.
While four of them died from the inhalation of toxic gases, the fifth one survived and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital, according to media reports.
All of them were from the same family; a 64-year-old father and his three sons aged 25, 27, and 34.
According to Eidipour, four workers were poisoned because there was no ventilation, and the septic tank was full of hazardous gases like carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, and methane.
Earlier, three Afghan migrants died after drowning in the “Aab Madar Canal” in the city of Qazvin. These horrible tragedies serve as a sobering reminder of the dangers vulnerable people confront when looking for safety and employment abroad. -PR
