Bengaluru: Three people were buried alive while one was rescued after a 25-foot high mud wall caved in at an under-construction site in Kormangala on Saturday evening. The deceased have been identified as Ishrafir, 26, Rukchand, 24, both hailing from West Bengal and Shivalinga, 55, a native of Tamil Nadu.
The injured, Aalangir Shiek, 26, hailing from West Bengal, was rescued immediately after he was spotted among the debris. According to the Fire and Emergency Services, the incident happened between 5.50 and 6.00 pm, (they got the message only at 6.45 pm) when a group of about eight to 10 construction workers were marking the foundation spot for a retaining wall to be built, to support the mud under the nearby buildings at an under-construction site in Koramangala 7th block.
The site was excavated for the basement parking lot of an upcoming commercial complex in the area, the police said. While four to six workers, including the contractor, were walking back from the foundation laying spot where no retaining wall was present, suddenly the 20-feet high mud wall caved in and fell over four of the labourers, who were still marking the foundation spot.
Tons of mud covered three of them burying them alive while Aalangir was spotted, who was rescued immediately and shifted to the nearby hospital. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot along with an earthmover to retrieve the three bodies. All the three bodies were retrieved by 9.15 pm.
The deceased were shifted to St. John’s Hospital for postmortem. The house adjacent to the site from where the mud wall caved in, was immediately evacuated by the fire officials.
The State Disaster Management Force (SDRF) personnel were also reached the spot, fearing more people could be trapped under the debris. The South East division police were also at the spot clearing the crowd and managing traffic that affected the busy 80 feet Ganapathi Temple road close to Forum Mall.
BBMP officials including Assistant Executive Engineer Srinivasa Reddy rushed to the spot and concluded that the builder had obtained all necessary approvals for the plan to carry out with the construction work.
Koramangala police have registered a case of accidental deaths due to negligence and have booked the owner, who is also the builder, identified as Zubair, and further investigations are underway.
