27 August,2026 12:58 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondent
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Two workers died after getting trapped inside a drainage chamber in Pimpri-Chinchwad in Maharashtra's Pune district, police said on Thursday.
The incident took place around midnight near Lokmanya Hospital, prompting an emergency response from police and fire brigade personnel.
The victims were identified as Amol Shinde, 20, and Manoj Shinde, 26. Both men were found trapped inside the drainage chamber under circumstances that were still being investigated, a police official said.
Police and fire brigade teams rushed to the location after receiving information about the incident.
Firefighters pulled both workers out of the drainage chamber and they were immediately taken to a hospital. However, doctors declared both of them dead on arrival, the police official said.
The exact cause of their deaths has not yet been established. Police said further investigation was underway to determine how the two men became trapped inside the chamber and whether they had entered it as part of assigned work.
Investigators are also trying to establish who assigned the workers the task and what they were doing at the site late at night.
Police are expected to examine whether the workers had been deployed for drainage-related work and whether adequate safety procedures were followed before they entered the chamber.
The official said the circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear, and authorities were gathering information from those connected with the work and from people present in the area.
The deaths triggered anger among local residents, who claimed that the incident occurred at the same spot where three workers died last year.
Residents expressed outrage and alleged administrative negligence, raising concerns about safety measures for workers involved in work inside drainage chambers and other confined spaces.
The police have not yet commented on whether the latest incident is linked to the circumstances that led to the deaths of three workers at the location last year.
Officials said the exact cause of death would be known after further investigation and medical examination.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the risks faced by workers entering drainage and sewage chambers, particularly when safety precautions and protective arrangements are not adequately established.
Police said they were continuing their investigation into the incident, including the circumstances under which Amol Shinde and Manoj Shinde entered the chamber, the nature of the work they were carrying out and the person or agency responsible for assigning them the duty.
Further action will depend on the findings of the investigation and the results of the medical examination, officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
