Tragedy Strikes Karachi: Three Sanitation Workers Perish in Manhole Incident, Sparking Outcry

A profound tragedy has cast a somber shadow over Karachi, as three sanitation workers lost their lives on Thursday while attempting to clean a manhole in the city's Mehran Town area. The incident, which unfolded near the Dawood Chowrangi, involved a father and son, along with a third individual, highlighting the perilous conditions faced by those who maintain the city's vital infrastructure.

According to Edhi Foundation spokesperson Muhammad Saad, the harrowing event began when Muhammad Saleem, 45, descended into the manhole.

Shortly after, his son, Muhammad Shakeel, 22, followed, seemingly to assist his father. Both men quickly succumbed to the toxic fumes or lack of oxygen within the confined space. In a desperate attempt to rescue them, another worker, Muhammad Imran, 30, entered the manhole, only to suffer the same tragic fate.

Police officials from the Shah Latif Town Police Station confirmed the grim details, stating that all three men were pronounced dead on the spot.

Their bodies were retrieved by Edhi volunteers and subsequently transported to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for medico-legal formalities. The initial assessment points to suffocation from poisonous gases as the cause of death, a recurring danger in such poorly ventilated and hazardous environments.

This heartbreaking incident is not an isolated one.

Karachi, like many urban centers in Pakistan, frequently grapples with such fatalities among sanitation workers, often referred to as 'sewer cleaners'. These individuals, predominantly from marginalized communities, routinely undertake highly dangerous tasks without adequate safety equipment, training, or proper protocols.

Activists and human rights organizations have consistently decried the lack of safety measures, attributing these preventable deaths to systemic negligence and exploitation.

The families of the deceased are left to grapple with immense loss and the harsh reality of their loved ones succumbing to a job that should guarantee their safety.

This incident serves as a stark and painful reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in sanitation work, including mandatory provision of protective gear, gas detectors, proper ventilation systems, and rigorous safety training, to prevent such avoidable tragedies from recurring in the future.