6 children dead, 3 injured in landslide

Six children were killed and three others were injured, when a mount of loose earth collapsed near a pond in Asarva area of Ahmedabad on Wednesday afternoon.

The landslide occurred at around 12 noon, when the children playing near the pond were trapped under the mud.

"The victims were pulled out from the mud pile by the rescue team, and rushed to Civil Hospital where six succumbed to injuries and three are undergoing treatment, and condition of one is critical," said K S Patel, police inspector of Shahibaug police station.

Three fire brigade teams have been pressed into rescue operations, which continued for more than an hour.

All the children are between the age group of five and 15 years. Three children "" Sailesh, Payal and Sachin "" were from the same family, who succumbed to the injuries. Agitated residents have called for an Asarva bandh on Thursday to protest against the civic authorities.

"Since the last 15 years no work has been done in the pond. The pond was earlier proposed to be a vegetable market, then the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) planned to convert it to a bus stand and finally it was left out to be a pond," said a resident of Asarva area.

The local BJP MLA Pradipsinh Jadeja tried to visit the site two-and-half-hour after the incident but was not allowed by the residents to inspect the spot.

The residents, mainly labourers, alleged that the corporator Kirtiban Patel has taken no step for the development of the area.