Worker buried under soil cave-in at construction site rescued in Gurugram

A daily wage worker was pulled out to safety after he got buried under the soil at a construction site in Sector 45 on Tuesday, police said.

At least five workers were carrying out construction work at Royal Residency Apartments, after digging a trench when suddenly a section of the excavated soil caved in.

Police said the workers were digging sewer lines outside a house in the residential society and the wall adjacent to the house collapsed.

Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (Sadar), said two workers sensed trouble and starting running for safety and they managed to come out of the soil on their own soon after the cave-in. “A mason, however, got completely buried and the labourers raised the alarm following which a police team reached the spot. The incident was reported at 4.30pm and a police control room van was merely 50 metres from the spot. It reached the spot within minutes. The team also alerted the fire station and immediately started removing the soil,” he said.

Balhara said within 15 minutes the worker was pulled out to safety. “He was taken to a private hospital where his condition is reported to be stable. He could breathe but was traumatised by the time he was pulled out,” he said.

The worker was identified as Gajraj Singh, who hails from Bihar, said police. Singh said before he could realise what had happened, he found himself trapped under the soil. “I was able to breathe even under the soil. If the police had not pulled me out, I would have died. I would call it a miracle that I survived, but the incident will haunt me at least for a few days,” he said.

Balhara said they have not received any complaint so far and no case was registered but an inquiry had been marked to ascertain whether the construction work was legal.

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on Saturday had imposed a ban on construction activities to curb air pollution in the city, in accordance with directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

HSPCB officials said different agencies in the city have been asked to enforce the ban and only specific infrastructure projects and projects of national importance were exempted by CAQM.

Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said a team led by a subdivisional magistrate will conduct an inquiry into the incident and if anyone is found violation CAQM directions, strict action will be taken against the person. “All construction work has been banned until further notice and we will take a call after a report is submitted by the SDM,” he said.