Two labourers were killed and four others seriously injured when they were buried under loose soil that caved in at a construction site near AIIMS here on Wednesday, a senior fire official said.
According to the official, six labourers were trapped when a mound of soil caved in. The soil was dug out during the construction of new buildings as part of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) expansion plan.
"The accident occurred around 12.15 p.m. near the recently constructed AIIMS maternity and child ward. Two labourers were buried alive. Four others injured are in critical condition. All of them have been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital," the fire official told IANS.
The fire department said three teams of rescue workers were dispatched to the site and the search and rescue operation continued till around 6 p.m.
"The operation is almost complete but our units have not left the spot as yet. We dug out the six victims, of whom two died," an official said.
The victims were taken to Safdarjung Hospital where doctors declared the first patient as bought dead, while the second succumbed to his injuries later.
"Two patients have died and others are still under treatment for severe head injuries," said Poonam Dhanda, spokesperson of the Safdarjung Hospital.
"The construction work was being carried out by a private construction company. We have kept everything ready at our trauma centre in case the injured are brought to the AIIMS," institute spokesman Amit Gupta told IANS.
