Rescue teams are continuing intensive operations to recover the body of a worker who went missing after being swept away inside a sewage treatment plant (STP) tank in Bengaluru’s Varthur, even as 10 days have passed since the tragic accident.
Rescue teams recover only body fragments
The missing worker has been identified as 27-year-old Brijesh Kumar, an outsourced employee of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) from Bihar. Officials involved in the operation said only partial human remains, including part of a leg recovered recently, have been found so far.
Brijesh and supervising engineer Agilan Mohan were swept away while carrying out maintenance work inside the Balegere STP on June 18. Agilan’s body was recovered on June 21, but Brijesh remains untraced.
According to officials, the tank is over 40 feet deep and around 80 feet in diameter, making the search operation extremely challenging. Around five feet of sludge, plastic waste and debris continue to hamper rescue efforts despite the water level receding.
Multiple agencies continue search
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services have deployed divers, excavators and body-detection sensors to locate the missing worker.
Officials suspect Brijesh’s body may have been pulled into one of the plant’s six pumps or buried beneath accumulated sludge. Teams are currently inspecting all pumping units as part of the ongoing search.
Contractor booked for negligence
Following the incident, Varthur Police registered an FIR against Chennai-based VA Tech Wabag Ltd under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging that the company failed to follow mandatory BWSSB safety protocols during maintenance work.
The complaint states that inadequate safety measures and failure to ensure the use of protective equipment contributed to the fatal accident. Police have issued a notice to the company, while investigations are continuing.
Meanwhile, BWSSB Chairperson N. Manjula has ordered an intensified search operation and constituted a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the tragedy.