The deceased labourer-couple have been identified as Yallappa (50) and Eramma (45), who hail from Madikeri in Kushtagi taluk of Koppala.

The couple were residing in a rented house at Gandhinagar near Kavoor.

A total of seven labourers including the unfortunate two were involved in the reconstruction of a compound wall for the house of one certain Kameer Kannu when the incident took place.

The slope adjacent to the compound wall was being dug using a JCB in order to provide a base to the wall. Due to a leakage from the tank beside the house, the soil of the slope was comparatively loose.

The deceased couple were working in a 7-foot-depth pit at the base of the slope, and the slope collapsed all of a sudden, Kavoor police told Deccan Herald.

The incident occurred at about 3.30 pm and it took almost two hours to take the bodies out with the help of a JCB, fire brigade from Pandeshawar, Kavoor police and the localites.

Helpless family

The poor labourer family stood helpless even hours after the incident without knowing what they should do.

There was nobody to guide them. Out of the four children of Yallappa-Eramma couple, only their second son Kanakappa  was there to witness all developments. The 17-year-old guy is also working as a daily wager in and around the City. The youngest among the children is a I std kid who stays with his relatives in the native place.

Kanakappa said they had come to the City 5 years ago in search of livelihood. “We are about 30 people here from a same village. We have a small farm-land in the native,” he said.

Kanakappa and some of his relatives were waiting before Kavoor police station even after 7 pm expecting some directions from the police.  “I think post mortem will be done only tomorrow morning. After that we have to carry the bodies to the native place,” the helpless boy said.