Coimbatore : Two workers were asphyxiated to death while cleaning a septic tank in a housing unit in Singanallur in the city on Tuesday.

According to police, the Tirunagar residents welfare association had engaged four workers to clean the tank.

As one of the workers, Murugan developed breathlessness and swooned in the tank, his brother, Pandidurai, tried to pull out Murugan. However he also swooned and died by inhaling poisonous gas, they said.

On information, police rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies and sent for postmortem.

A few people complained that the workers were on the job without proper safety devices and further investigations are on, they said.