KOCHI: Four workers were killed and two injured when the earth caved in over them at a construction site in NAD Road near Ernakulam Medical College, Kalamassery on Friday. The accident occurred at Nest Electronic City around 2.45 pm while the workers were engaged in digging a huge pit. According to the Fire and Rescue Service, two persons were rescued and a search is on for one more person who is suspected to be trapped under the earth.
All the victims are workers from Kolkata, West Bengal. Police confirmed that the deceased were identified as Kudus Mandal, Nuramin Mandal, Faijula Mandal and Najeesh Ali. The injured were Jiarul Mandal and Mong Mandal.
Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said the condition of one of the rescued workers is critical. “We are also searching for one more worker,” he said. There were around 25 persons working at the pit when the earth caved in on them. "Of the seven reported missing, we could rescue only two persons and the condition of one of them is critical,” said a fire and rescue service official.
Fire and Rescue units from Eloor, Thrikakkara and Gandhi Nagar stations are conducting the rescue operation with the support of police and local residents. Police also used the service of the K9 squad for the search operations. The district administration has launched a probe to ascertain whether there was any safety lapse at the site.