Three workers died while cleaning a tank at a ‘gudakhu’ manufacturing unit located in Raipur’s Sadar Bazar area on Friday night, Raipur superintendent of police Prashant Agarwal said .
‘Gudakhu’ is a paste-like mix made from powdered tobacco and molasses, used widely in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states.
“ The tank was used to ferment molasses and tobacco, which led to some poisonous gas. Purshottam Sahu (28), Netram Sahu (59) and Jogeshwar Uike (40) were cleaning a tank used to mix raw materials when they suddenly fell unconscious,” the SP said.
They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they died during treatment, he added.
“We have registered a case and the exact cause of death will be known after we get the autopsy reports,” the SP added.