2 labourers killed after coming under debris during bridge construction in J&K's Samba

Samba/Jammu: Two labourers died and four others were rescued on Thursday after a group of construction workers came under heap of soil while they were working in a large pit dug for building a bridge in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district, officials said.

The six labourers were involved in the construction work on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. They were working in a deep pit dug for the construction of a bridge over the Devak river when a heap of soil collapsed on them, leaving them trapped, they said.

After receiving information about the incident, the district administration, along with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) launched a rescue operation, the officials said.

After two hours of intense efforts, four labourers were pulled out from the soil. Heavy machinery was deployed to rescue the remaining two labourers, they added.

District Commissioner Rajesh Sharma and Samba Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vinay Kumar Sharma were present at the site, overseeing the rescue operation.

According to the officials, four of the labourers are stated to be stable while the two critically injured, who were shifted to a hospital in Jammu for treatment, succumbed to injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Sobin Kumar of Bihar and Lal singh of Reasi.