Two migrant labourers died of asphyxiation and another escaped with injuries after a huge mound of mud caved in on them at the site of an under construction building at Karangalpady Circle on Friday.
The labourers, declared dead on arrival by the doctors, were identified as Bheemesh (25) from Bagalkote and Masrigul (20) from Malda in West Bengal. The injured labourer Ani Gul (25) was shifted to a private hospital. Eyewitnesses told police and fire personnel that around 1 pm most of the labourers stopped working in order to have lunch.
Bheemesh, Masrigul and Anigul continued with finetuning works on the structure for erecting a concrete retaining wall. Ani Gul who was first to witness the sliding of mud fled from the place. But Bheemesh and Masrigul ended up being buried alive when huge mounds of mud caved in on them.
As many as 30 fire personnel from Kadri and Pandeshwar under the guidance of Chief Fire Officer G Thippeswamy, District Fire
Officer Mohammed Nawaz and Fire Station Officer Sunil Kumar toiled for over 45 minutes to extricate the bodies buried at a depth of nine foot in the soil.
Many labourers were seen thanking their stars for having left for an early lunch. Labour Officer Wilma Tauro who rushed to the site told reporters that as the death of labourers took place within the construction site, the principal employer A J Shetty and Contractor Kishore should release a compensation in the range of rupees five to seven lakh to the dead labourers.
“If they do not pay compensation, government will help labourers file a case in JMFC,” she said.
Mangalore South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath who visited the construction site recollected on insisting the safety of labourers.
“We will bring an order to ensure that licence is issued only after soil testing and other safety measures are in place,” he said.
Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the dead labourer. The medical expenses of the labourer being treated in the hospital will be borne by the government, he said and added that government will take action against those responsible for the caving in of mud based on the report submitted by the department.
North police station registered a case under 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (a) (causing death by negligence). No arrests had been made, police said.