Following an overnight rescue operation, the bodies of four men, who got trapped inside a sewer in Delhi’s Sanjay Gandhi Transport (SGT) Nagar area, were pulled out early on Wednesday morning.

Police said that of the four, three men identified as Bacchu Singh, Pintu and Suraj Kumar Sahni, were private contractual employees who were working on MTNL lines at the time of the incident on Tuesday afternoon.

The fourth, a rickshaw puller identified as Satish (40), was a resident of Sardar Colony in Rohini Sector-16. Satish had tried to save the three workers but also got trapped in the sewer.

The rescue operation started after the Samaypur Badli police station got information about the incident around 6.30 PM on Tuesday. Apart from the police, fire department officials and a team of the National Disaster Response Force were also part of the rescue efforts. According to the fire department, the operation ended around 4 AM on Wednesday with the four bodies being pulled up from the sewer. Police said a post-mortem examination will be conducted at the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital.

Officials said, "The rickshaw puller, who tied to save the workers, was a hero. But he also got trapped inside the sewer." There is an iron net beneath the MTNL lines inside the sewer. It was suspected that the four got stuck there, they added.

Toxic gas inside the sewer made the rescue operation difficult even with protective gear. Earth-moving machines were used to widen the mouth of the sewer, police said. Satish, the rickshaw puller, is survived by his wife Neha (35) and three daughters -- Tisha (14), Kritika (8) and Arbi (3).