BENGALURU: Two workers died and three others were injured after a portion of soil collapsed at a Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) underpass construction site near FTII Circle on Tuesday morning.
The deceased have been identified as Sunaram Tiri (37) from Odisha, and Parimal Basak (31) from West Bengal. The injured workers are Sunil Xalxo (28) from Chhattisgarh, and Sadanand Kindo (35) and Irmiyaz Toppo (30), both from Jharkhand.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 11 am when the five workers were engaged in work inside a pit more than 20 feet deep. They were draining water using motor that had accumulated in the pit, which had been dug for Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) work. As the water was being drained, the soil reportedly collapsed, trapping all five workers underneath. While three workers managed to escape, two others were trapped under the soil.
Sonaram was rescued and shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Parimal died after being trapped under the soil. His body was later retrieved by rescue personnel. The fire personnel conducted a rescue operation that lasted for more than an hour.
The police said that a case is yet to be registered and that they are examining whether proper safety precautions were followed.
The police also said that during the rescue operation, they did not notice the workers wearing helmets or using other mandatory safety equipment.
BDA to provide Rs 8 lakh relief to families of each deceased
The Nandini Layout police have registered a case under Sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the BNS against PJB Engineers Pvt Ltd, the contractor for the turnkey project, and its representatives, Bijo Joseph, Kishor, and others.
Meanwhile, the BDA chairman has ordered an independent inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. The committee will comprise a retired judge and a retired chief engineer and has been asked to submit its report within 45 days.
The BDA will provide Rs 8 lakh in compensation to the families of each of the two deceased workers and bear the medical expenses of the injured workers.
In a press release, the BDA said a turnkey project contract is one in which the contractor is responsible for the complete execution of the project, including design, construction and commissioning, and hands over a fully functional facility to the client.