Gross negligence on the part of the construction company supervisors was cited as the reason for the cave-in; it also left three others injured.
One labourer was buried alive, while three were rushed to a hospital in critical condition, after a shock cave-in at an under construction building in Naranpura, late on Saturday. On Sunday, a complaint was filed against supervisors of the construction company for neglecting the safety of the labourers.
The incident took place at the site of Ratna High Street, a commercial complex being constructed near Naranpura crossroads. At around 11:50 pm on Saturday night, officials of Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) rushed to the spot after receiveing a rescue call.
The firemen and volunteers found that a large lump of clay, as high as 20 feet, had collapsed on the labourers, while they were busy putting up the structural steel columns for the basement of the building. Four of the nine labourers working there were buried under tonnes of clay and steel, due to the cave-in.
According to eyewitnesses, the height of the clay chunk was more than 20 feet, making it almost impossible for the laborers to escape.
The firemen quickly started the rescue operation and pulled out three of labourers alive. They were identified as Ravindra Rajput, Ajay Rajput and Sugriv Rajput, all natives of Uttar Pradesh. They were rushed to VS Hospital.
However, the fourth labourer, identified as Vijay Bahadur Satay, was not fortunate and was trapped under the steel cage of a column under the pile of clay. The cave-in took place late at night, making the rescue team’s efforts of locating Satay that much more difficult in the darkness.
Making use of their search lights, the rescuers continued their operation found Satay trapped underneath a cage-like steel structure under four feet of clay. Finally, with the help of a steel cutter, the firemen pulled out Satay’s body at 12:58 am. He had already died after being buried under the debris for more over an hour.
According to additional chief fire officer, Rajesh Bhatt, work at the site was being carried out with no concern for the labourers’ safety.
“Usually, a retaining wall is built first, to protect the men working in such deep excavations. However, we have not found any such wall around the 20-foot deep space,” he said.
Later on Sunday, Naranpura police lodged a complaint for causing death through negligence against three supervisors of Ratna-Maitry Construction.
In his complaint to police, Ravindra Rajput, 22, alleged that Nitesh, Nirmal and Nitin – supervisors of Ratna-Maitry, had asked them to carry out the work without any proper light or safety equipment, which resulted in the death of Satay.
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