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Five labourers died and three other were injured in a mishap at a fish processing unit under the jurisdiction of Mangaluru Special Economic Zone on April 17, according to Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar.
The Commissioner told mediapersons on April 18 that the mishap occurred at Ulka LLP fish processing unit at Thokur, under Bajpe police station limits, around 6.10 p.m. on April 17.
A labourer fell into a waste collection tank in the evening and became unconscious. While attempting to rescue him, seven other labourers also fell into the tank. Of them, five died while three were injured. The injured persons are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru. According to doctors at the hospital, the injured persons are out of danger.
The labourers are from West Bengal. Police gave the names of the deceased as Nijzamuddin Alis, Mohammed Samiyullah Islam, Umar Farooq, who died on April 17 night, and Mirazul Islam and Sharafat Ali who died in the hospital on April 18. Of them, Alis was the first one to fall into the tank.
The injured persons are Hasan Ali, Mohammed Karibullah and Hafizullah.
The Commissioner said that the exact cause of death is not known. Doctors at the hospital said that they found fish waste inside the nose and mouth of the deceased.
The police have taken into custody four administrative staff of the unit for questioning. They are Production Manager Ruby Joseph, Area Manager Kuber Gade, Supervisor Mohammed Anwar, and Farqooq of Azad Nagar in Ullal who was the local person looking after the labourers.
Police have registered a case under Sections 337, 338 and 304 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code against the unit, which is owned by Raju, son of Gorakh of Mumbai.
Nearly 100 persons, including 31 persons from West Bengal, are employed in the unit. The management of the unit has not provided any protective equipment to the labourers. The deaths could have been avoided had the management taken precautionary measures, the Commissioner said adding that the unit has been shut down.
Rakhibul, brother of the deceased Umar Farooq, came to know about the mishap on April 17 night and came to the hospital in Mangaluru on April 18. Mr. Rakhibul works in Goa. He told mediapersons that Farooq had been working in the factory for eight months. He has a two-month-old child. His family is in Devaganga near Kolkata.
