MADURAI: A 35-year-old contract labourer, who was involved in pipeline-laying work at Ashok Nagar near Koodal Nagar, died after getting trapped under mud in an 18-feet deep pit on Monday. The bursting of a nearby drinking water pipeline had caused the soil around the pit to cave in. Firefighters recovered the body of R Sakthivel (35) of Sathyamangalam in Erode district, after four hours of rescue efforts. This is the second such incident in the past six months in Madurai.
Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon said three workers were tasked with laying an underground drainage pipeline in the pit. "A pipe, running close to the pit, burst and this caused water to leak into the pit. Before long the pit also collapsed and only two workers managed to jump out in time. Slurry mud trapped Sakthivel and fire and rescue service personnel were alerted," he added.
The firefighters rushed to the spot with a backhoe loader and pump to drain the water out. The contract labourer's body was recovered after a search operation that lasted for over four hours. The body was sent to Government Rajaji Hospital for postmortem. Koodal Pudhur police have filed a case and begun inquiries.
Sakthivel is survived by his wife and two children aged 15 and 11. He had been working with the AK construction company, the firm which was tasked with laying the pipeline, for the past five years. His brother and a few other relatives had only recently joined the same company.
Activists said the city corporation has failed to ensure that private contractors adhere to precautionary measures while carrying out work. "This is the second such death occurring in Madurai in the last six months. The authorities must take strict action against those responsible for this," they added. A 34-year-old worker hailing from Erode lost his life on June 3 after a pit dug out for laying drainage pipelines collapsed near Vilangudi in Madurai.