7 labourers die, 5 injured as STP wall caves in at Gurgaon society

ALWAR/GURGAON: Seven workers died after an under-construction wall came crashing down on them inside Signature Global society in Sidhrawali on Monday night.Officials said the wall gave way when a group of around 12-15 labourers were working on a sewerage treatment plant (STP), trapping them under rubble and caved-in soil.

Other workers at the site and passersby began pulling out the injured labourers by hand, before police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire brigade arrived and took over the rescue.A senior official alleged though the collapse occurred around 7pm, police were informed only about 9.30pm. "So far, the bodies of seven workers have been recovered. Five others are undergoing treatment," the official said.

Rescue teams continued clearing debris late into the night amid fears that more people could still be trapped. Police said they had initiated an investigation to determine what caused the wall to collapse.The injured workers were taken to Bhiwadi district hospital in neighbouring Rajasthan. Dr Sagar Arora, the hospital in-charge, confirmed that seven workers were brought dead. According to him, the cause of death appeared to be asphyxiation.

Police in Bhiwadi said the bodies reached the hospital between 10pm and 10.30pm. Based on identity cards recovered from them, six of the workers who died were identified as Indraji Sada (32), Bhagirath Gopi, Chhotelal Sada (37), Shiv Shankar (31), Shivkant Chaudhary (47) and Mangatram (32). Their addresses were listed in Manesar.According to police officials, the men worked in different roles, including helpers, fitters and operators.

"There could be more deaths as details from the site are still being collected," an official said.Bhiwadi superintendent of p olice Prashant Kiran said Haryana Police had been informed and had taken over the probe.Sources at the site said a private contractor had been engaged for the STP work. After the collapse, bouncers were deployed at the site to prevent reporters from accessing it.