Labourer buried alive as soil caves in at dam project

Raisen (MP), Mar 3 (PTI) A 26-year-old labourer died after soil caved in on him while a pit was being dug with an earthmover machine at an under-construction dam project in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district on Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred at Chauras Ghat in the Chinki-Boras dam project area in Bareli region, about 110 km from the Raisen district headquarters.

Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Kuber Singh Mukati told PTI that work was underway to lay large pipelines at the site and a JCB operator was digging a pit. Chhotu Nagariya, a local, was working inside the pit.

"Labourers working ahead repeatedly shouted at the JCB operator not to remove soil as Nagariya was working below, but he continued digging. As he removed soil again, it caved in and fell on the labourer, burying him underneath," said the SDOP.

He remained trapped under the soil for around half an hour. By the time workers removed the soil and pulled him out, he had died, said Mukati.

Labourers alleged that they were not provided safety equipment and that the contractor made them work without protective gear.

Police have registered a case and launched an investigation, the SDOP added. PTI COR LAL NSK