A 65-year-old woman and her two sons died of suspected asphyxiation after entering a newly constructed underground water tank one after another in an apparent rescue attempt at their home in Haldwani’s Gaulapar area on Tuesday evening, police said. A fourth man who entered the tank to save them also lost consciousness but survived.
Event Context
Police said the incident occurred when 46-year-old Dharmendra Bisht entered the underground tank at his home to dismantle its shuttering using a ladder. When he did not return for some time, his younger brother, Khushal Singh, 40, entered the tank to rescue him but also lost consciousness. Their mother, 65-year-old Sarswati Devi, then entered the tank to check on her sons and also fell unconscious.
A farmer, Bhoj Ram, who was working on the family’s farmland near the tank, raised an alarm and entered the tank in an attempt to rescue the three, but also lost consciousness.
Team Analysis
On hearing the commotion, villagers rushed to the spot, broke open part of the concrete covering of the tank, and managed to pull all four people out. Bhoj Ram regained consciousness, while Dharmendra, Khushal and Sarswati, who were taken to Sushila Tiwari Hospital (STH) in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, were declared dead on arrival by doctors.
Station house officer (SHO) of the Chorgaliya police station Tara Singh Rana said the three appeared to have died due to asphyxiation, but the exact cause would be confirmed after the postmortem is carried out on Wednesday.
Match Outlook
However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the postmortem, officers said.
