Bhubaneswar: Two labourers were killed and four sustained injuries after a 20-ft wall adjacent to an under-construction drain collapsed on them at Bhoi Sahi in Badagada here on Tuesday.The deceased were identified as Sanyashi Maharana and Duryodhan Gouda, both in their 50s and natives of Berhampur. The six labourers were engaged by a contractor appointed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for construction of the drain.Sources said the labourers were engaged in digging work when the wall of an adjoining old house collapsed on them. The impact killed two of them, while the others suffered minor injuries.Locals and fellow workers rushed to the spot and shifted the victims to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared two of them brought dead. The injured were administered immediate medical aid and are stated to be out of danger.Mayor Sulochana Das said, “We hired a contractor for the work, but he engaged another person. It is highly negligent. We are filing a police complaint against the contractor.”Badagada police registered a case of unnatural death and launched an investigation to ascertain whether the accident resulted from negligence in safety measures, based on the complaint lodged by BMC.Officials are likely to examine the condition of the old structure and whether precautionary steps were taken before excavation work began. BMC officials said they were collecting details from the contractor and would take appropriate action based on the inquiry report.
