Woman dies in wall collapse at garbage dump in east Delhi

NEWDELHI:A

32-year-old woman, her husband and their son were buried under debris of garbage and a brick wall that collapsed on them in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar on Thursday evening, police said.

The three were picking garbage at a dumpyard when an excavator machine pushed the dilapidated wall, which fell on them.

The woman died on the spot while her four-year-old son and husband are undergoing treatment at a hospital, Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara), said.

“The garbage-lifting work was being undertaken by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

It was dilapidated wall that collapsed after a nudge by the excavator. A POLICE OFFICER

We have seized the excavator and have sent a police team to identify the driver who fled, leaving the machine behind. A case of causing death by negligence is being registered,” said Prasad.

A senior EDMC official said an internal inquiry was ordered to fix responsibility for the death.

A report would be prepared by Friday.

The dead woman has been identified as Marjina Ali, a resident of New Seemapuri in east Delhi. She lived with her husband, Ansar Ali, and son, Suhail. The family earned their living by picking garbage, said the officer.

The family was picking from a garbage site in Farsh Bazar around 5 pm on Thursday when the EDMC team too began lifting the waste.

“It was a short dilapidated wall that the excavator machine happened to nudge, causing it to collapse. Since the family was knee-deep in garbage, they got buried under the debris of the wall and the rubbish,” said an investigator.

On hearing their cries for help, the driver allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled. Locals pulled them out of the debris and called the police. “A CAT ambulance rushed the family to Dr Hedgewar Hospital nearby but the woman died in the ambulance,” said the DCP.