Four construction workers were buried alive when loose soil on which they were building a retaining wall for a road caved in on Thursday.
The accident happened in a private property at Mel Currency near Drumla Estate in Edappally, Coonoor. The bodies were recovered and sent to the Ooty GH for post-mortem.
Police identified the four victims as R.Kamaraj (28); A. Karthikeyan (25); Arumugam (48); and his son A. Prathap (18). One worker, E. Janagar (21), was rescued. All five were from Dharmapuri district.
M. Karumalai, an eyewitness, said the men were digging on the side of a cliff to build a revetment when the accident happened.
The earlier revetment was damaged during rains.
Mr. Karumalai said that as the men were digging to lay the foundation, a huge portion of the mud collapsed on top of them, trapping all the five. As Janagar was on a higher plane, he was immediately rescued.
Another worker, V. Sivalingam, said more than 24 workers from Dharmapuri had come to Ooty two weeks ago to work on a road project at the property.
After the police as well as fire and rescue service personnel were called to the spot, efforts to retrieve the bodies began. Nilgiris District Collector, P Sankar, and Superintendent of Police, Murali Rambha, rushed to the spot.
Police have registered a case against 13 persons under sections 304(A) (causing death by negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.
Mr. Rambha said that the 13 persons include the property owner, the contractor and sub-contractors and arrested six persons.
Licence under scanner
Mr. Sankar said the building licence granted to the property owner would be reviewed.
He has recommended compensation for the next of kin of the four deceased from the Construction Workers’ Welfare Fund.
