Ahmedabad, July 6 (IANS) Three workers were rescued and taken to hospital after they lost consciousness inside an underground sewage tank during maintenance work at the U.N. Mehta Hospital campus in Ahmedabad on Monday evening.

According to the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services, the incident occurred while maintenance work, including the cleaning of an underground sewage tank and the repair of an electric motor installed in the hospital’s underground drainage system, was being carried out.

Preliminary information indicated that one of the workers, identified as Pravin Vaghela, became unconscious while cleaning the underground sewage tank and fell from ground level into the partially filled tank below.

Two other workers, Sahil Nadiya and Rocky Macwan, entered the tank in an attempt to rescue him but also lost consciousness, apparently after inhaling toxic gases inside the confined space.

The Ahmedabad Fire Control Room received a call about the incident at 7.25 p.m. Shahpur Fire Station received a direct distress call from a member of the public a minute earlier, at 7.24 p.m., while Naroda Fire Station received a separate call at 7.28 p.m.

Rescue teams from Shahpur and Naroda fire stations were immediately dispatched to the site.

The Shahpur team was led by Station Officer Bhavesh Rawat, who reached the hospital with an Emergency Response Team, while the Naroda team, led by Station Officer Yuvrajdan Gadhvi, arrived with an Emergency Response Vehicle and rescue personnel.

Firefighters carried out a coordinated rescue operation and brought all three workers out of the underground sewage tank. They were subsequently shifted to hospital for medical treatment.

Senior officials, including Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot and other civic officials, also reached the spot and were briefed on the rescue operation.

The condition of the three workers was not immediately known.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are expected to be examined further.

–IANS

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