HYDERABAD: Two women -- one eight months pregnant -- were buried alive when a wall caved in at the construction site where they were working on Moulali main road on Friday. Another pregnant labourer and three men sustained injuries in the incident that left locals shocked.

Twelve labourers were working at the site when the wall of a dilapidated building, which was already demolished to pave way for a commercial complex, collapsed on them around 3 p.m.

Huge thud

"There was a huge thud. As we turned our heads, some boulders and mud began falling on us," recalled B. Mallesh, 26, who managed to escape with a few scratches. As for the women, they hardly got time to react before the wall fell on them. While eight-month-pregnant Balamani and Saroja, both in their late 20s, died on the spot, Nagamma was pulled out of the debris later.

"There was no way we could rescue the two women since the boulders were extremely heavy," a trembling Mallesh said. Malkajgiri police called in medical teams to extend first aid to the injured.

Meanwhile, Malkajgiri municipal officials said they had nothing to do with the supervision of the construction work since the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority gave the building permission.

Demonstration

Secunderabad Cantonment MLA G. Sayanna, along with his supporters, staged a demonstration for some time, but called it off after the builder's representatives reportedly assured to pay a compensation of Rs.1.5 lakh each to the kin of the victims.

The Ranga Reddy district Collector L. Premachandra Reddy announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 each to the two families under the Apathbandhu scheme.

The police booked a case of suspicious deaths.

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