Moulvibazar Correspondent
Four tea garden residents died after falling into a safety tank in Harinchara tea garden in Srimangal, Moulvibazar.
Another person fell ill in the incident. The incident took place on the western line of Harinchara tea garden on the border of Srimangal. The families of the deceased are mourning.
The deceased in the incident are – Rana Patnaik (17), son of Uday Patnaik of Harinchara garden, his brother Shraban Shraban Nayek (19), Krishna Rabidas (19), son of Jahar Lal Rabidas of the same garden, and Nipen Fulmali (27), son of Laxminder Fulmali. Another tea worker named Rabindra Bunarjee is sick in the incident.
Sabuj Tju, a resident of Harinchara tea garden, said that on Wednesday midnight, when Rana Patnaik of the West Line of their garden went to the toilet, his mobile phone fell into the safety tank.
He called his brother Shraban Patnaik and went down to the safety tank to pick up the mobile phone.
When he did not come up at that time, his brother Shraban Patnaik went down to the tank.
When he did not come up, the other three workers of the garden, Nitesh Phulmali, Krishna Ravidas and Ravindra Bunarji, also went down.
When none of them came up, the other workers of the garden quickly picked them up from the safety tank and sent them to the Srimangal Upazila Health Complex at around 1 am.
In a serious condition, they were sent from Srimangal Hospital to the Moulvibazar 250-bed hospital.
The doctors there declared the four dead. Among them, the surviving Rabindra Bunarjee was given necessary treatment and then sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.
Dr. Binendu Bhowmik, Deputy Superintendent of Moulvibazar 250-bed Hospital, said that they believe that they died due to poisoning from safety tanks. However, details will be known after the autopsy.
Aminul Islam (OC) of Srimangal Police Station said that four tea garden residents died while trying to retrieve mobile phones from a septic tank at Harinchara Tea Garden in Sreemangal at around 1.00 am on Wednesday (July 9).
Legal proceedings are ongoing in this incident.