6 labourers die as wall collapses

Khamano, August 20

Six labourers were killed and four sustained severe injuries after a wall at the site of an under-construction rice mill collapsed at Lakhanpur village here on Sunday.
Five of them died on the spot. The injured were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh, where another succumbed to his injuries. The condition of the remaining four is stated to be critical.
Sources said at least 16 labourers were plastering the 30-ft high wall when it suddenly collapsed. The victims were trapped under the debris. Hearing their cries, villagers rushed to the site and informed the police.
Khamano SHO Navdeep Singh reached the site and joined the rescue work. The labourers were pulled out after over 30 minutes. While five were found dead, the injured were rushed to Khamano civil hospital from where five were referred to Chandigarh.
The deceased were identified as Harpreet Singh of Manawala village in Sangrur, Rajvir Singh of Dhuri, Jagjit Singh and Manjit Singh of Lakhanpur village, Rameshwar and Raghvir Singh of Farour village, near Khamano.
The injured are Lakhvir Singh of Dhuri, Makhan Singh of Gaggarpur, near Dhuri, and Jasvir Singh and Bhajan Singh of Farour village.
Raju Lakhanpuri, a villager who was present at the site, said a Sangrur resident had purchased land in the village and started constructing the mill about three months ago. Some villagers alleged that the foundation was built using substandard material and the wall was being watered daily which resulted in its collapse.
The SHO said they had registered a case against Rajesh Kumar Puri and Himanshu Bansal, site owners and residents of Dhuri, and Avtar Singh Bhola, a contractor, under Section 304 of the IPC.
He said the bodies would be handed over to the families after a post-mortem examination on Monday.
Last month, three labourers had been electrocuted in New Punjabi Bagh locality of Ludhiana while they were plastering the wall of a house. One labourer had died after he came into contact with a high-tension wire. The others had got a fatal shock when they attempted to save him.
The deceased had been identified as Satranjan Rai and Mukesh from Uttar Pradesh and Rakesh from Bihar. They were living in a rented accommodation in the Jodhewal area.