Patna: Four members of the same family died of suffocation while cleaning a toilet soak pit in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Sunday, in what officials described as a tragic chain of events triggered by exposure to poisonous gas.
The incident occurred in Anwarpur village under the Sarai police station area, leaving the village in mourning and relatives inconsolable.
According to local officials, one member of the family first entered the tank to clean it and fell unconscious. In an attempt to rescue him, other family members climbed down one by one, but were overcome by toxic fumes inside the pit. Four people later died, while three others were admitted to hospital and are reported to be out of danger.
The deceased were identified as Anand Kumar, 46; his 18-year-old son, Priyanshu Kumar; and Anand’s brothers, Pankaj Kumar and Rahul Kumar. Rahul had been married on February 24, barely a week before the incident, deepening the sense of grief in the family.
Family members said that as one person fainted inside the tank, others rushed in to save him without realising the danger posed by the accumulated gas. “One man went down and fainted. Several others went to rescue him. All of them fainted, and four later died. They were all from the same family,” a relative said.
Senior officials reached the spot soon after the incident. Rambabu Baitha, the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Hajipur, and Gopal Mandal, the SDPO of Lalganj, supervised the initial inquiry.
“So far, four people have died. Three are injured but are out of danger and hospitalised,” Baitha said. “They were cleaning their private toilet. One person fell into the tank and others entered to save him. The district administration is with the affected family.”
All four bodies have been sent to Hajipur Sadar Hospital for postmortem examination. Police said further investigation is under way.
The tragedy has cast a pall over Anwarpur village, with residents gathering outside the family home as news of the deaths spread.
