Cuttack: Pranakrushna Muduli, the worker who was stuck inside a concrete pipe of a pumping station near the State police signal headquarters at Lower Police Colony here for around seven hours, was rescued alive by a team of ODRAF and fire officials. He has been rushed to SCB Medical College & Hospital here.
The elderly man was reportedly pushed inside the pipe when another worker of the pump house switched on the motor for water discharge.
Sources said Muduli, who is a staff of the pumping station, had gone inside a tank to clear a blockage in the pipe. Unaware of the presence of the worker, another staff of the pumping station turned on the motor of the pump for water supply, following which the cleaning staff was pulled 20 to 25 feet into the pipe along with water.
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Since the width of pipe was around 2.5 feet, the man was unable to come outside the pipe on his own.
Chief Fire Safety Officer Sukant Sethi informed that the labourer remained stuck in the pipe for around seven hours. He was being supplied with oxygen to sustain inside the pipe, Sethi added.
The rescue operation was carried out in presence of Collector Sushant Mohapatra and Cuttack city Congress President Mohd Moquim.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed happiness over the rescue of the labourer and congratulated the ODRAF team for their successful rescue operation.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to Twitter to express his gratitude towards the ODRAF and fire brigade officials for their success and also wished for early recovery of Muduli.
https://twitter.com/dpradhanbjp/status/997087112208896001