Man trapped under soil in well in Kerala 2 days ago, dead; body yet to be extricated

More than 48 hours after a man was accidentally buried alive under the soil inside a well near Vizhinjam here, his lifeless body was partially cleared of sediments on Monday after strenuous and continuous efforts by Fire force personnel, police and volunteers.

A Fire force official said that by morning half of the 55-year-old victim’s body was cleared from the soil and some more time would be required to bring him out from the well.

The official said the water at the bottom of the well and continuous falling of soil from above were the major hurdles in the operation which had commenced as a rescue effort on Saturday morning.

As all efforts to dredge out the water using machines were not successful and as soil kept falling from upper portions of the well, a group having expertise in working in wells of 100 feet or more depth came from Kollam district on Sunday night.

They put up wooden boards and iron rings to prevent soil from falling on top of them as they worked and managed to clear sediments from half of the victim’s body, the official said.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team had also reached the spot at around midnight, but it could not do anything, the official added.

The victim, identified as Maharajan, had been residing in the district for several years.

He was buried under the soil while he was fixing rings inside the well at Mukkola near Vizhinjam, police said.

Information regarding the incident was received around 9.30 am on Saturday and from then Vizhinjam police, Fire services personnel and local people had worked to extricate Maharajan from the almost 100-feet-deep well.