Daijiworld Media Network – Shillong

Shillong, Jul 11: Five people, including two brothers who attempted a rescue, died of suspected suffocation inside a well at a private construction site in Shillong's Lapalang area, police said on Saturday.

East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Friday in the Rynjah police station limits when four labourers entered the well to pump out water. They reportedly became unconscious after inhaling fumes from a generator being used for the operation.

One of the labourers managed to climb out and raise an alarm. Two brothers from the neighbourhood then entered the well in an attempt to rescue the trapped workers, but they too were overcome by the fumes and became trapped, the officer said.

The State Rescue Team (SRT) later retrieved five people from the well and rushed them to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), where doctors declared them brought dead.

Police have registered a case at Rynjah police station.

Officials said the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem examination. Further investigation is underway.