Guna, June 25: Five men died on Tuesday after allegedly inhaling toxic gas while attempting to rescue a cow that had fallen into a well in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district, police and state officials said.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. at a private farmhouse in Dharnawada village, under the Raghogarh sub-division, said Deepa Dodve, Sub-Divisional Police Officer. The well, located on farmland near a mango orchard, is approximately 70 feet deep.
According to officials, a group of children were picking mangoes when a cow entered the orchard and fell into the well. After the children alerted nearby adults, two men entered the well to rescue the animal but lost consciousness due to suspected toxic gas exposure. One more man descended and returned after experiencing breathing difficulties. Subsequently, three others entered the well and also lost consciousness. Of the six men who entered the well, only one survived.
Emergency services, including local police, the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF), and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), were deployed for a rescue operation that lasted over two hours. CISF personnel from a nearby Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) unit also assisted in the effort.
By the time rescuers retrieved the bodies, all five men and the cow were dead. The source of the suspected toxic gas remains unknown, and water samples from the well have been sent to National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) for chemical analysis.
“The water appears clean, so it’s difficult to determine the cause at this stage,” said Dodve, adding that a police investigation is underway and further steps will depend on post-mortem and forensic findings. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the tragedy and announced an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh ($4,800) for each bereaved family.
“The accident in Dharnawada village of Guna district, resulting in the death of five people, is extremely tragic,” Yadav posted on social media platform X, adding that he had directed district in-charge minister Govind Singh Rajput to visit the site.
