Kanpur, May 2 (IANS): An 18-year-old labourer was killed while two others were hospitalised after they inhaled some poisonous gas while working in an illegal plastic recycling unit here Monday, police said.
While Gokul, 18, died inside the plastic recycling unit in Raipurwa town, Asif, 21, and Arun, 17, were hospitalised after they fainted.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that a reaction in the chemicals used for cleaning plastic cans led to the formation of some poisonous gas, following which a labourer died and two others fell unconscious," Deputy Superintendent of Police Karunakar Rai said in Kanpur, some 80 km from Lucknow.
"On reaching the spot, we found that the entire unit was filled with a pungent smell," he added.
While the owner of the recycling unit was absconding, the condition of the hospitalised labourers was said to be stable.