Two labourers buried alive in Ludhiana

THE LOCALS SAID THAT THE LABOURERS, WHO WERE DIGGING LAND, WERE WORKING WITHOUT SAFETY GEAR

LUDHIANA: Two labourers were buried alive when a big chunk of earth came down on them while they were digging land for laying a sewage line in Daad village on Pakhowal road on Sunday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Gobind, 20, and Kapil Dev, 42. A third labourer was rescued by the locals and rushed to a private hospital where his condition is said to be stable.

As the area falls outside the municipal corporation limit, the work was being carried out by the panchayat through a contractor.

The workers began digging at 9am. Eyewitnesses said the monsoon downpour had softened the soil, and when the three labourers started digging, the earth came down and all of them were buried under it.

Sukhdev Singh, one of the eyewitnesses, said the locals began a rescue operation immediately and were able to help one the three labourers get to the hospital. Gobind and Kapil Dev were stuck deep under the earth and it took the locals one and a half hour to rescue them. The doctors declared them brought dead.

WORKING WITHOUT PROTECTIVE GEAR

The locals said that the labourers were working without safety gear, and that if they were equipped properly, the mishap could have been averted.

Charanjit Singh, former sarpanch of the village and the contractor, was also in the trench when tragedy struck, but he escaped unhurt. ASI Harmesh Singh said that as per the preliminary investigation, it was an accident and the kin of the victims have not filed any complaint.

The police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.