3 rag-pickers buried alive

NEVER ENDING WAIT: :Relatives of three rag-pickers, who were buried alive under the garbage heap at the Jawaharnagar dump yard in Shamirpet on Tuesday, anxiously waiting for their bodies. Photo: Nagara Gopal

Three persons, including two teenagers who make living by picking up plastic in garbage, were buried alive evening after mounds of garbage fell over them at Jawaharnagar dumping yard in Alwal on Monday evening.

The police and GHMC officials, with the help of locals, started massive searches from Tuesday morning using four proclains to retrieve the bodies of the victims feared dead in the incident.

Searches continued till late in the night but the bodies could not be found, the Alwal Sub-Inspector, Ram Reddy, said.

Victims

The victims, Mohd. Raheem, 25, Syed Khaja, 15, and Vasu, 15, used to live in the nearby Shantinagar. They eke out livelihood by sifting the heaps of garbage at the dumping yard and collecting plastic, which they would sell for recycling.

The trio was searching the rubbish when heaps of the garbage from the top slid as strong winds blew suddenly and fell over them. A yard security guard Ramanjaneyulu shouted to alert them but they got trapped underneath the garbage mound before they could react.

A week ago, a 42-year-old woman, Nagamma from local Fire Victims colony, too got trapped at this yard after heaps of garbage fell on her. Officials tried to retrieve her body using proclains for two days but could not.