Five construction workers killed as earth caved in

Five construction workers were killed after a 15-feet high mound of earth caved in at the work site of a leading corporate educational group.

The workers, who were digging a trench for construction of a basement below the building, had little chance of surviving after they were buried under the heaps of sand at a multi storied building under construction at Kakumanuvari Thota. Four women were among those who were killed.

The workers have been engaged by a Bangalore based contractor for constructing a multi storied school complex by Narayana Group of Educational Institutions.

DSP, Guntur West Ch. Venkateswara Rao said that criminal cases would be booked against the contractor and the site engineer for endangering the lives of workers by forcing them to work under hazardous conditions. The mound was at a height of 15 feet while the base was hardly 2-3 feet. The mound caved in unable to bear the weight.

Municipal Commissioner K. Sudhakar said that the construction of the building was illegal as they had not secured the permission to construct.

The mishap took place at about 9 a.m. Eight workers were digging a 12 feet trench abutting the compound wall when the heap of sand fell on them with a thud. A construction worker who was injured in the mishap, Veera Vasu, said that they were caught unawares as the heap of sand fell on them with a loud thud.

Police and Fire personnel rushed to the spot and unearthed the bodies from the trench. The deceased were identified as, Kummera Venkata Lakshmi (24), Kummera Varalakshmi (24), O. Nagamani (23), Derangula Padma (22) and Kummera Venkateswara Rao (18). Three persons who were injured were taken to Government General Hospital and their condition is stable.

Minister for Rural Development D.M. Vara Prasada Rao visited the mishap site and promised criminal action against those responsible. I.G., Guntur Range, Harish Kumar Gupta also visited the spot.