24 hrs on, man trapped in trench on Delhi-Katra eway yet to be rescued

The incident occurred near Pakho Nangal village in Jalandhar district when Suresh Kumar Yadav (54), who hails from Haryana’s Jind, was inside the trench rectifying a fault in the machine responsible for digging land for installing pillars at a depth of around 60 feet. A medical team is stationed at the site along with an ambulance and life saving equipment.

Nearly nine machines have been pressed into service for the rescue operation.

NHAI sources informed that the land was dug up to 70 feet by evening (Sunday) and some traces of the trapped person were seen, but because of the depth and sandy nature of the soil, the highly soft land underneath was caving in. Now, the JCB machines are excavating the earth from parallel side, because the rescue team members have gone quite deep and it is quite risky for them also, the sources said.

Suresh Yadav’s family members reached the spot on Sunday who were informed about the incident in the morning.

Satya Bhan, a relative of Suresh Yadav, said, “Suresh Yadav is his distant uncle. He (Yadav) had come from Delhi to repair a fault as one of the machines excavating the earth was not working. He was called from Delhi to fix the problem.”

He said Yadav is also into farming and is looking after the family of his brother who is no more. He said that NHAI has not given any update to them on this.

“The company that hired him had made no safety arrangements for him because of which the incident happened. They will file a case against the company. No-one from the company has met us yet,” he added. Yadav had gone inside with an oxygen cylinder, but the backup won’t last more than a few hours, sources with NHAI said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development, Jalandhar) Jasbir Singh, who was present during the rescue operation, told The Indian Express that the victim is a technical expert in the contractor’s team engaged by the NHAI for constructing the Delhi-Katra Expressway. Suresh Yadav has 25 years of experience in the field, he added.

The machine had encountered an obstruction during the excavation ahead of installing pillars in the trench, officials said. Suresh Yadav and another technician Pawan Kumar had gone into the trench to inspect and fix the problem. They were secured by safety ropes for swift extraction once the issue was resolved. When they were in the trench, a huge mass of earth caved in, covering them. Pawan Kumar was successfully rescued, but Suresh Yadav still remains trapped under the heap of mud.

The softness of the ground beneath, attributed to the recent rain, might have contributed to the earth giving way, officials added.