ALKHOBAR, 14 October 2003 — Two Asians and a Saudi suffocated while cleaning a sewer at the prestigious Alrashid Mall, according to Civil Defense officials.

The accident occurred around 1.15 p.m. yesterday, when an Indian and a Pakistani member of the mall’s maintenance team along with their Saudi supervisor attempted to clean the sewer.

According to eyewitness accounts, the Pakistani laborer climbed down the manhole first despite warnings from the mall’s staff to wait until it was safe.

“But it seems they were in a hurry and they went in,” said a Filipino who was present at the scene.

When the Pakistani fainted, his Indian colleague climbed after him, but he also lost consciousness.

Maintenance officials say that normally workers wait before entering a sewage tank so that the gas has time to escape. “But these two did not follow the safety precautions,” an official said.

The Saudi supervisor then climbed down the manhole to rescue his two workers. Mall officials, who by then had alerted the Civil Defense, asked him to wait, but he refused saying that any delay could cost the lives of his workers. Once in the sewer, he too collapsed.

The Civil Defense team was quick to respond and reached the scene shortly afterward, but by the time the three men were brought to the surface they had died.

Red Crescent paramedics tried in vain to revive them, and the three were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

There have been similar incidents in the past and the Civil Defense has been cautioning maintenance and cleaning companies to follow the safety rules before undertaking such operations.