2 workers buried alive at under-construction site in Gurugram: Cops

The labourers were digging a basement for a three-story residential building. They had dug around 20 feet below ground level when a massive mound of earth from the retaining wall came crumbling down, police said

Two daily wage workers died after getting trapped under a mound of earth when a retaining wall at the site collapsed at an under-construction residential building in Sector 57 on Wednesday. Police said the incident took place around 5pm, adding that six men were working at the time, allegedly without any safety gear.

The labourers were digging the basement and placing an iron column when the retaining wall suddenly collapsed, trapping two of them. (Sourced)

“The labourers were digging a basement for a three-story residential building. They had dug around 20 feet below ground level when a massive mound of earth from the retaining wall came crumbling down. While four labourers on the first floor rushed to safety, two got trapped under the earth,” said Aman Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (crime). He said police would register a case based on the statements of the family members of the victims, who were scheduled to reach Gurugram on Thursday morning, and their preliminary investigation.

Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Nihal (22) and Hasim (28) from Araria in Bihar.

A migrant worker from Bihar who was at the site, requesting anonymity, said, “We were digging the basement and placing an iron column when the retaining wall suddenly collapsed, trapping Nihal and Hasim. We immediately informed the police and fire station, following which police teams reached the spot, along with a JCB. They rescued them took them to the nearest hospital. But doctors declared them dead on arrival.”

The four labourers who survived alleged negligence on the contractor’s part, said police. They alleged that had proper safety gear and equipment been provided to them, the two workers could have survived. Another migrant labourer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The wall should have been concretised and proper support should have been given before digging the basement for the residential project.”

The building was being constructed by a local contractor, who, police said, is currently on the run.

In a similar incident on March 29, a 22-year-old daily wage labourer died after he got stuck under the soil at an under-construction site of a commercial project in Sector 84.

On January 20 this year, a similar incident was reported from Sector 56 where two labourers were buried alive after a mound of earth came crumbling down on them while they were working at an under-construction plot. Police had registered a case against the contractor and owner of the plot after a relative of the victim filed a complaint alleging negligence on their part.