Four workers of a leather factory died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas here today. The gas was formed in a safety tank in the factory due to admixture of chemicals used to dye leather. The liquid industrial waste used to be pumped out of the tank after treatment. The victims have been indentified as Shah Allam, Rabul Khan, Kamlesh and Ganesh. An FIR has been registered against the owner of Leather Prime Industries Rajiv Bansal and its manager Harikishan Bansal. Palwal SP Jagat Singh Hooda said the accused had absconded, but would be arrested shortly. The factory had re-opened after the three-day holiday break. A motor which pumped out industrial waste from the tank was not functioning. To rectify the fault, Shah Alam and Rabul Khan entered the tank, located in a room about 10 feet underground, to clean it. When they did not return, Kamlesh and Ganesh followed them, and they too did not return. The co-workers found them lying unconcious in the tank. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital where they were declared brought dead. The SDM and the DSP of Palwal also reached the spot along with officials of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board. DSP Jaiveer Singh said the water from the tank had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban. Palwal Chief Medical Officer Rajender Prasad said the nature of the gas, or the cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem of the bodies. The factory, which has been in existence since 1972, is in the business of dying and giving finishing touches to raw leather. According to the police, this is the first time that such an incident has taken place in the unit.