A major tragedy was averted when five labourers on whom a pile of loose earth collapsed in a 10-foot deep foundation pit in Bagalur on Sunday were rescued in the nick of time.
The labourers — Subbappaiah, 55, Venkataramanaiah, 55, Gangoolleppa, 45, Ratnamma, 40 and Ramadevi, 30, all hailing from Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh — were working in the foundation pit dug up for a two-storeyed building being constructed by a man named Giri Gowda at Shivapura in Bagalur, a police source said. The pit was dug up with an earth mover.
About 23 labourers, all from the same village — Poolachettipalli in AP — were at work when the loose earth collapsed. They were raising columns of the foundation when one side of the pit collapsed on five of them who were working right under it around 11.15 am, eyewitnesses said.
Other labourers and their employer rushed to victims’ rescue and dragged them out just in time. A source pointed out that incessant rains in the last few days might have weakened the earth, leading to its subsequent collapse.
Shivappa Naik, a sub inspector at Bagalur police station, said that three labourers had already been rescued when he reached the spot within seven minutes.
“Two were still trapped inside with only their heads visible. Luckily, their torsos were not trapped in the loose earth and hence there was no real danger to their lives,” Naik told Deccan Herald. The victims were then rushed to the Yelahanka government hospital from where they were shifted to Victoria Hospital.
Venkataramanaiah is critical, according to a source in the hospital. He was hit by a stone in the abdomen. Subbappaiah fractured his left thigh and Ramadevi her limb. The other two escaped with minor
injuries.