Four Migrant Labourers Die in Locked Factory Room, Toxic Fumes Likely Cause

Four young workers were found dead on Thursday morning inside a locked room at an oil seeds processing factory in Kanpur’s Panki Industrial Area, sending shockwaves through one of Uttar Pradesh’s busiest manufacturing hubs. The victims — Amit Verma (32), Sanju Singh (22), Sanju’s cousin Rahul Singh (23), and Daud Ansari (28) — were all residents of Taukalpur village in Deoria district and had migrated to Kanpur seeking employment. They were discovered lifeless by colleagues who raised the alarm after failing to receive any response from the room where the men had been sleeping overnight.

Upon forcing entry, police and factory staff were met with a grim scene: the door was bolted from the inside, windows sealed shut, and a metal tray containing smouldering coal sat dangerously close to the bodies. The presence of the burning coal immediately pointed to carbon monoxide poisoning as the primary cause, a lethal but invisible threat produced when coal burns in poorly ventilated spaces. Forensic teams spent hours collecting evidence, while the entire room has been sealed for detailed scientific examination.

Medical experts have explained that carbon monoxide binds with haemoglobin far more effectively than oxygen, rapidly starving the brain and vital organs. Victims typically fall into deep unconsciousness without waking, making it one of the most silent and deadly hazards faced by workers using makeshift heating in winter. Although authorities are awaiting post-mortem results to confirm the exact cause, preliminary findings strongly support asphyxiation due to toxic fumes.

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The tragedy has reignited serious concerns over occupational safety and living conditions in Kanpur’s industrial belt, where thousands of migrant labourers are often housed in cramped, makeshift quarters lacking basic ventilation and heating facilities. Labour rights organisations have long warned that reliance on open coal braziers during cold nights poses an unacceptable risk, yet enforcement of safety guidelines remains weak.

As grief-stricken families in Deoria prepare to receive the bodies of their loved ones, police have registered a case and launched a comprehensive investigation. Factory owners now face intense scrutiny, while the incident has prompted fresh demands for mandatory safety audits, provision of safe heating alternatives, and stricter enforcement of worker accommodation standards across Uttar Pradesh’s industrial corridors.

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