Three persons were suffocated to death when they got trapped inside a manhole here today, police said.
The deceased were identified as Appla Naidu (32), Eswar Rao--both contractual workers with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)--and Nookaraju, the driver of official vehicle, they said.
The mishap occurred inside the manhole at Birla Junction in Murlinagar area here in the afternoon, police said.
According to police, Naidu got stuck inside the 30-feet deep manhole while desilting the sewage line following which Rao went inside to help him out but he too got trapped. Hearing their cries for help, Nookaraju, a driver with GVMC who was present at the spot, entered the manhole but he also got stuck inside.
"The victims got suffocated and died as they could not come out of the manhole", police said.
The bodies of all the three were brought out and sent to King George Hospital for postmortem, sources said.
Meanwhile, the contractual labourers staged a dharna on the national highway demanding compensation for the families of the deceased.
