Three labourers were killed and seven others suffered injuries after a makeshift water tank collapsed at a labour camp in Maharashtra's Pune district on Thursday morning, police said.
The incident took place in Bhosari area of Pimpri Chinchwad township when some labourers were taking bath under the water tank, they said.
"It seems a wall of the water tank exploded due to the water pressure, leading to the collapse of the tank," Additional Commissioner of Police, Pimpri Chinchwad Vasant Pardeshi said.
Here's what exactly happened
The tragedy was reported around 7.30am when many of the local workers were hurriedly going about their morning ablutions, washing clothes, bathing, etc., in the big toilet complex. When around a dozen workers were taking baths near the taps, the water tank abruptly gave way and collapsed into a heap inside the toilet complex, leading to several casualties.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Police and Fire Brigade rushed to the spot along with other disaster relief agencies to help with the rescue and relief operations. Local eyewitnesses said they had heard some peculiar sounds just before the massive water tank filled to capacity to handle the morning peak hour rush, crashed, with huge quantities of water gushing out in the vicinity. While three bodies have been recovered from the site, the rescue teams are searching for some more feared to be buried under the debris, and the victims were working at the nearby private construction sites.
The labourers who were below the water tank got trapped under the debris, he said.
"Three of them died on the spot while seven others sustained injuries and they have been rushed to a hospital," the official said.
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