KOCHI: One migrant worker died and another suffered injuries when a portion of land caved in at a construction site adjacent to the Kalamassery municipality complex on Wednesday evening. The accident occurred at the construction site of Njalakam Juma Masjid around 4.30 pm, police said.
The deceased is identified as Hasan Sheikh, 34, of Nadia district in West Bengal. His co-worker, Mithun Sarkar, 25, who suffered injuries, has been admitted to a private hospital near Pathadipalam. The local residents said the mud stored above the construction site and the land caved in on the labourers when they were working in a 25-feet-deep crater that had been dug up to facilitate the construction work of the Masjid.
“It was around 4.30 pm when we heard the heavy sound of a landslip. When we rushed to the spot, we saw a migrant worker with mud filling up above his waist. Since it was impossible to enter from the accident site, we reached the other side of the area. We took him and rushed him to the hospital with the help of local people. We learned that they were working on constructing a septic tank, which was also filled with water,” said an auto rickshaw driver.
However, Hasan’s body was recovered only 30 minutes after the Fire and Rescue Services personnel, and police rushed to the spot. “Hasan was completely covered with mud. We had to remove nearly five feet of mud to take him out. It took almost 30 minutes for us to find the body,” said Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Eloor, who was part of the rescue activity.
Meanwhile, confusion prevailed in the area as Fire and Rescue Services officials had no clue about the exact number of people trapped. “There were some workers involved in other works at the construction site. There were rumours that a few more people were trapped inside the soil. But later, we came to know that only two were there near the accident area,” said a police official.