Rescue operation in progress at a construction site in Kozhikode city where a migrant worker was killed following the cave-in of land on June 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
A 30-year-old migrant labourer from West Bengal was killed and two others sustained grave injuries when a huge mass of land caved in on them at a construction site near Nellikkode in Kozhikode city on Sunday (June 29, 2025.)
The victim was identified as Elanchan. According to police sources, the accident took place at around 11 a.m. when the three labourers were busy with the structural works for a retaining wall around an under-construction flat in the area.
“Though two of the injured workers were rescued on time and admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College, the third victim was spotted under the debris after an hour long search by the rescue squads,” they said.
Rescue squad members also had a close shave as land caved in at the site again during their attempts to spot the third labourer who was remaining under the debris. Sources said the man, who was taken out with the support of a fire-and-rescue-services team, was later declared dead at the Medical college hospital.
A section of local residents alleged that the land development and flat construction works were carried out in the area in an unsafe manner ignoring the safety concerns raised by them. They also claimed that they had approached the police and Revenue Department authorities for action.
A local body member who reached the spot also confirmed that there were instructions from the higher authorities to stop all the construction works at the steep terrain citing the cave-in threat. She also alleged that the building work was continued in the steep and hazardous area without completing the construction of the retaining wall.
Published – June 29, 2025 04:29 pm IST
