1 dies, 3 rescued as pit caves in at Pallikaranai
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Chennai: One worker died and three others were rescued when a large pit they were digging for underground drainage work caved in at Vallal Pari Nagar in Pallikaranai on Tuesday.
While firemen were able to pull out three of the trapped workers from under the debris, the fourth, Rajesh, 25, of Uttar Pradesh, died before they could reach him. Nearly 25 firemen laboured with 200 local residents to rescue the trapped men.
The workers were digging a 20 ft deep 4 ft wide pit to lay pipes on the II main road, 12th street junction when the earth caved in, the police said. The work was being carried out by a private contractor from Hyderabad for Metro Water. Locals said the workers wore neither helmets nor any other safety gear.
3 rescued from 18-ft deep pit
Chennai: The fire and rescue team managed pull out three of four workers trapped after a pit dug for underground drainage caved in at Vallal Pari Nagar in Pallikaranai on Tuesday. However one worker, Rajesh, 25, a native of Uttar Pradesh, died by the time rescue workers reached him.
Nearly 25 fire and rescue service personnel under the supervision of district fire officer Meenakshi Vijayakumar, worked along with 200 local residents to rescue the workers trapped in the pit after the earth caved in while Rajesh tried to drill a rock.
The rescue personnel received a distress call at 4.14 pm and the rescue teams reached the spot by 4.31 pm. Mahadoor Majod, 28, was rescued by 4.50 pm while two others, Manoj, 23, and Venkitesan, 45, were taken out at 5.20 pm. The rescue teams reached Rajesh by 7.20 pm and by then he was dead.
“Local residents were of great help in the rescue operation. The workers were digging a 20 feet deep, 4 feet wide pit to lay pipes on the II main road–12th street junction when the earth caved in. The workers had dug 18 feet when they hit a rock.
They were drilling the rock when the mishap occurred,” the police explained. The work was carried out by a private contractor based in Hyderabad for metro water’s work of underground drainage in Pallikaranai, in the extended area of Chennai corporation.
Local residents told this newspaper that the workers engaged in the work did not follow the required safety norms. “They were not provided with helmets and nobody at the site knew what to do till the firemen reached the spot,” a resident said.
However, when contacted, the area executive engineer of metro water, Naina Durai evaded questions on the mishap.
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