Four people, including three from a family, died of asphyxiation on Wednesday morning after inhaling toxic gases in a biogas tank in a village in Baramati taluka of Pune, Maharashtra, the police said.
The police have identified the deceased as Pravin Bhanudas Atole, 28, his father Bhanudas Anandrao Atole, 55, Prakash Sopan Atole, 35, and Bapurao Piraji Gavhane, 55.
According to the police, around 11.45 am one person entered the British-era tank filled with a slurry containing cow dung and animal urine at Nagade Vasti in Khandas village to stir the matter but fell unconscious after inhaling the biogas. Three others entered one by one to rescue him, but they too died of suffocation after inhaling the toxic gases, the police said.
A team from Pune Rural police rushed to the spot and initiated an investigation.