Ten women working under the MNREGA scheme were buried alive and another injured when a mound of mud caved in on them at a village in Narayanpet district of Telangana Wednesday, police said.
The incident occurred at Tileru village around 11.15 am when 12 women labourers were sitting at the work site to have lunch, they said, adding rescue efforts were on.
Under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, the women were engaged for digging earth as part of trench work, a senior district official told PTI.
According to eye-witnesses, a mound of earth fell on them and they were buried under six to eight feet of mud.
Ten women died and one was injured while another woman managed to come out safely, according to the official.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock and anguish over the incident which he described as "unfortunate."