KULGAM: Two labourers died while another was injured after they slipped and fell into a trench at Chakpora area of South Kashmir’ Kulgam district on Friday, officials said.
An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that they were working in the trench when it suddenly collapsed and they slipped and fell into it along with another person, who tried to help them.
“Soon after the incident, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kulgam, Athar Aamir UI Shafi Khan along with SDRF, police and civil administration rushed to the spot and started the rescue work. All the three were rescued and were shifted to a hospital, where two among them died. The deceased have been identified as Maqbool Dar of Kulgam and Aziz ur Rehman of Bengal,” the official said.
Medical Superintendent District Hospital Kulgam, Gulzar Ahmad Dar told KNO that two persons were brought dead to the hospital, while the injured one is undergoing treatment.
DC Kulgam, speaking to the reporters at the rescue site, said, “SDRF, Police, Revenue, and Fire Service ensured the rescue of people trapped inside without wasting time.”
An SDRF official said, “Due to suffocation inside the trench, two people have lost their lives. During transportation to the hospital, we administered prolonged CPR but couldn’t save them. We are providing awareness to people about the dangers of digging deep tubewells and trenches, as they emit dangerous gases. However, some people still don’t follow it.”
“The way DC Kulgam, SDRF, police administration, and other agencies came here and started the rescue operation within the stipulated time is commendable. The migrant workers were working in a trench for days; suddenly it collapsed, and the duo went inside it,” Ghulam Rasool, a local said.