A 24-year-old worker was critically injured after loose soil collapsed into a drainage-work trench near Vedant Circle on Surat’s Outer Ring Road on Wednesday, burying him briefly before local people rescued him and took him to hospital.
The worker, identified as Rehan, was inside the pit when a section of soil along the excavation gave way, according to a report by the Times of India citing fire officials. The incident occurred at about 11.35am while a backhoe loader was being used to dig a trench for laying a drainage pipeline.
The collapse covered Rehan with earth and briefly left him out of sight. People at the site immediately began removing the soil with tools available to them, working from above the excavation to reach the trapped worker. They pulled him out and provided initial assistance before transporting him to a hospital.
Rehan was reported to be in critical condition. The report did not provide further details about the nature of his injuries or the hospital where he was admitted.
Surat Fire and Emergency Services was alerted after the incident. Fire officials reached the location after the worker had already been rescued by people present at the site and moved to hospital. No further rescue operation was required at the trench by the time the emergency team arrived.
The excavation was part of drainage-line work near Vedant Circle, along the Outer Ring Road. Trench work for underground utilities can leave workers exposed to collapsing soil, particularly when excavation walls are not stable, although the specific circumstances that led to this cave-in were not immediately available in the report.
The available account does not state whether the work had been halted, which agency or contractor was responsible for the drainage project, or whether any inspection or inquiry had been ordered after the collapse. Further details about the site conditions and the worker’s medical status were also not immediately available.
