India, Feb. 4 -- A 26-year-old contract labourer lost his life after being exposed to toxic fumes and a strong gush of water while cleaning a deep sewer line in Goregaon in the early hours of Tuesday.

The deceased, Shamim Razak Gazi, was engaged on a contractual basis for drain-cleaning work by the sewerage operations department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The incident occurred around dawn at a manhole near Gate No 2 of Mega Mall, close to the Goregaon pumping station, beneath the metro lines.

Gazi had entered a manhole about 25 feet deep along with a co-worker, Shaheen Noor Islam, 36, to remove a blockage. According to officials from the disaster management control room, Gazi is believed to have died after inhaling...