Hyderabad, May 22 -- Three manual scavenger workers from the Dalit community died after inhaling poisonous gas while trying to clean a seven-foot-long septic tank in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur district.

Hari Krishnan (27), Saravanan (30), Venugopal (30), Chinnaswamy (36) and one more worked for a private dyeing factory, Aalaya Dyeing Mills, located in Karaipudur area. On May 19, they entered the tank without any protective gear.

Soon after, Hari Krishnan, Saravanan, Venugopal and Chinnaswamy collapsed and fell unconscious after inhaling toxic methane gas. While Saravanan and Venugopal died while on the way to the hospital, Hari Krishnan breathed his last on May 20.

Chinnaswamy was still fighting for his life. The fifth man, whose identity h...