Five buried alive at underpass project site

Three bodies recovered, two rescued, says DCO

FAISALABAD:

At least five people were buried alive when Rakh Branch Canal burst its bank, causing a land slide at the Abdullah Pur Intersection underpass project.

Water from the breach, which occurred late Friday night, had accumulated at the construction site. Despite repeated warnings by workers, curious watchers climbed a heap of loose earth near the site. When it collapsed, at least five people got buried under it.

A city district government official on Saturday said three bodies had been recovered but were yet to be identified.

The missing men – Akhtar Majeed, 30, Majeed, Muhammad Atif, 22, Muhammad Qadeer, 18, Muhammad Yousuf, Mehmood Ahmad, 30 and Muhammad Junaid – were residents of Tariqabad.

Several senior government officials including Communication and Works Secretary Major(r) Azam Suleman Khan and DCO Muhammad Ameen Chaudhary rushed to the site to supervise the rescue operation.

The DCO said that two rescue teams, twelve divers, two cranes, two mechanised shovels, thirty-five dumpers were being used in the rescue operation. Officials of Rescue 1122 and Civil Defence were also contributing, he said.

He said two of the people, Muhammad Usman and Tahir Mehmood, had been rescued and the operation was underway to pull out others.

The DCO also said that a three-member committee had been constituted to investigate the matter. He said strict action would be taken against anybody found negligent. The committee will present its report within 72 hours, he added.

An official handout issued later stated that the breach may have occurred due to thrust boring for Water and Sanitation Agency’s (WASA) main pipeline below the canal.  The Rs1.1 billion underpass project is scheduled for completion by February 22 but appears set for a delay.

“I saw 15-20 people standing on the heap… they may all end up dead if the rescuers do not hurry,” Raza Ali, an eyewitness said. Raza Ali claimed that there were two children too.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2013.