BHUBANESWAR: Two workers died and three others sustained serious injuries after the perimeter wall of a house abutting an under-construction drain of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) collapsed in Badagada village here on Tuesday afternoon.
Initial investigation revealed a group of workers was engaged in construction of the drain carried out by the BMC when loose soil and the wall of the neighbouring house gave away. The labourers were trapped under the debris and locals rushed to their rescue.
On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and pulled out the injured labourers. At least five injured workers were sent to a hospital and two of them were declared received dead, said the police. The incident occurred between 3 pm and 3.30 pm.
The drain was too small to cause any damage. It was about 2 ft wide and 1 ft-1.5 ft deep. BMC sources said no heavy machinery was used for the construction.
However, the contractor entrusted the drain work did not put up scaffolding against the laterite stone wall. Aided by loose soil and water seepage, the wall’s base had weakened which did not catch anyone’s notice and proved fatal when it collapsed all of a sudden on the day.
Locals said the wall had weakened due to leakage in an underground water pipe while no preventive measure was in place to avoid any untoward incident.
BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana said the incident was unfortunate and an inquiry has been launched to probe the lapses. The role of the agency tasked to carry out the construction work is being looked into and further action will be taken accordingly, he told this paper.
Most of the workers engaged at the site were from Ganjam district. While one deceased was identified as Sanyasi Behera, the other’s identity is yet to be ascertained. Police have registered two unnatural death cases in this regard.