3 women labourers die as basement caves in

Jaipur: Three women labourers died after a section of around 40-foot-deep basement excavation collapsed at an under-construction building on Gandhi Path West in Jaipur’s Karni Vihar area Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 3pm while the women were working inside the excavated basement near a retaining wall. The cave-in buried them under tonnes of soil and debris, triggering panic at the site.

Co-workers and rescue personnel used a JCB to clear the rubble and pulled the women out after about 20 minutes. They were taken to SMS Hospital, where they died during treatment.

Police identified the victims as Anuti Kumari from Aurangabad, Bihar, Sunita Devi of Gaya in Bihar and Pratima Kumari from Jharkhand all aged between 20 and 25 years. They were working at the site with their husbands for about a month, police said.

Police have opened an inquiry to determine the cause of the collapse and are examining possible negligence. Further action will depend on complaints filed by the families.

Police said Sunita’s family arrived last month and was living at the site with two children. Some workers alleged that after the accident, contractors arranged machinery, but several supervisors and other site personnel left before rescue operations concluded.