Eight labourers including several women were buried alive when a 50-foot-high section of earth collapsed on them while they were strengthening a tank under the rural employment guarantee scheme at Thakkalapalli village on Saturday evening. Five labourers also sustained injuries in the mishap, our correspondent reports. Officials identified the dead as A. Muttavva, 45, B. Rajeshwari, 36, B. Hanmakka, 55, K. Hanmakka, 55, M. Raju, 50, M. Hanmakka, 45, Lingu, 45, and B. Narsaiah, 50. Sources said the incident occurred near a flood canal outside the village. The workers, who were using heavy equipment including tractors, had no time to react when the cave-in took place.
Villagers rushed to the spot and tried to pull the stricken labourers from under the mud. Officials joined in the rescue and dug out eight bodies after a three-hour operation. Relatives of the labourers, who gathered at the site, alleged that adequate safety measures were not taken, leading to the mishap.
When contacted, the district collector, Mr S.K. Sultania, told this newspaper that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident to determine the reason for the mishap and if any lapses had occurred. He said the administration would extend all help including ex-gratia to family members of the deceased.
The endowments minister, Mr J. Rathnakar Rao, visited the site with Mr Sultania and Mr Y. Gangadhar, superintendent of police, and consoled bereaved family members. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti general secretary, Mr K. Rama Rao, announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 from the party finds for each of the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, some MRPS activists staged a demonstration at the site of the mishap and demanded Rs 5 lakh as ex-gratia for the families of the deceased.
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