Four die while cleaning sludge tank at jewellery making unit in Surat

2 min readUpdated: Jun 7, 2026 10:35 PM IST

As soon as the incident was reported, the fire brigade rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation, took out all four victims from the tank and shifted them to a hospital where doctors declared them dead, police said. (File)

Four persons died possibly after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a tank at a jewellery manufacturing unit in Surat on Sunday morning, police said.

One of the deceased was a supervisor whereas three others were labourers. The incident took place in Varachha-Khand Bazar area and a case of accidental death was registered at Ashwinikumar Police Station.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Alok Kumar said that the incident occurred at the facility of Rati Gems when workers entered the tank, which collects sludge from the jewellery cleaning process.

“They clean the tank almost every two months. On Sunday, a worker entered the tank and fell unconscious. Then another labourer entered (to save the first one) and he too fell unconscious. So, (in this manner) four persons went inside the tank and (possibly) died of asphyxia or poisoning,” Kumar said.

“The exact cause of death will be known once we get the postmortem report,” he said.

Kumar said that they will fix the responsibility in the accident.

“We are examining whose negligence led to the incident, as preliminary investigations indicate that safety protocols were not followed. We will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter,” he said.

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As soon as the incident was reported, the fire brigade rushed to the spot and carried out a rescue operation, took out all four victims from the tank and shifted them to a hospital where doctors declared them dead, police said.

“We will also analyse CCTV footage to determine what protocols should have been in place versus what was actually implemented, and subsequently fix responsibility,” the DCP said.

The deceased supervisor has been identified as Nilesh Savaliya.

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