Kerala - Kollam   

Youth killed as earth caves in

Staff Reporter

He was digging at a depth of 15 feet when the incident occurred

FAILED RESCUE: Fire and Rescue Services personnel trying to recover the body of a youth buried by earth in Kollam on Tuesday.

KOLLAM: Sunil, 21, was killed when earth caved in while digging a well in the compound of a house at high school junction here on Tuesday.

Sunil was digging at depth of 15 feet when the incident occurred. He and two others escaped, but while trying to rescue another worker, Ratish, who was trapped, Sunil got buried under the sand. Mr. Ratish has been saved.

Fire and Rescue Services personnel tried to recover the body by scooping out earth for nine hours, but failed in the attempt. They said it would take more time to get the body out.

Soon after the incident, the police and the Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the scene and tried to save Sunil. A huge crowd of people who gathered offered help.

But the loose earth around the dug-up portion posed problems. Attempts to scoop out the earth covering Sunil resulted in the well caving in further, delaying the rescue operations and endangering those engaged in it. After half an hour, the Fire and Rescue Services said Sunil could be dead.

What followed was a slow and meticulous operation by its personnel and professional well diggers to remove the earth and retrieve the body. They went down the well hooked on ropes. At one stage, after five hours, earth up to the shoulders of the body, which was in a standing posture, was removed. As efforts were made to loop a rope through the shoulder, the earth caved in and covered the body again. Then, the rescue operations had to be repeated all over again.

District Collector B. Sreenivas was at the scene coordinating efforts to recover the body. District panchayat president K. Devaki; P. Rajendran, MP, and P.K. Gurudasan, MLA, were present.

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