Under-Construction Well Collapses; 2 Workers Killed In Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam

Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh): Two labourers were killed in Juna Gadgadiya village of Ratlam district when the inner wall of an under-construction well caved in. The incident happened on Tuesday evening, and the police extricated their bodies in the early hours of Wednesday.

Durgesh Armo, additional superintendent of police, said, "The incident occurred around 7 p.m. as labourers were engaged in building a cement-concrete wall around a 40-foot-deep well.

The victims, Vikram Singh (43) and Amar Singh (32), both residents of Kelukheda village in Tal tehsil, were working near the base of the well when the surrounding soil, loosened by persistent rainfall throughout the day, gave way and buried them under a heavy mass of earth.

In fact, there were five labourers who had finished the day's work and were about to leave when the incident occurred." The area had experienced continuous rainfall, which saturated the soil and made the structure unstable.

The collapse happened suddenly, leaving little time for the workers to react. "Initially, they all tried to extricate them, but when unsuccessful, they informed the police at around 8 p.m.," the officer added. Upon receiving the alert, police, local administration, and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) rushed to the site.

However, the rescue operation faced significant delays due to wet and unstable soil conditions. It was only by 11.30 p.m. that heavy machinery, including earthmoving machines, could be deployed to begin excavation.

The bodies were eventually recovered at 1.40 a.m. and sent to the Jaora District Hospital for post-mortem. The workers were trapped approximately 10 feet from the bottom of the well, with about 30 feet of space above them.

The officer further stated that a case of negligent conduct under Section 106(1) BNS has been registered against Dashrath Gurjar, a private contractor responsible for the construction.

"The quality of work was very poor," he said. Similar incidents have occurred in the past across Madhya Pradesh, including in Dewas and Guna, where heavy rains have triggered collapses at construction sites.