A migrant worker who was almost completely buried under the debris for over two hours in Kottayam, following a sudden mudslide was rescued by fire personnel on Thursday using a backhoe loader to dig him out while also providing him oxygen through a tube during the operation. The incident occurred in Mariyappally village area of Kottayam district on the morning of Thursday, November 17, during the construction of a basement of a house there, a fire rescue official said.
While digging a wide hole as part of the construction work, there was a sudden mudslide and three of the four workers managed to run to safety while one got buried under the wet mud. Rainfall in the area recently had made the mud wet and loose, the official said.
Immediately, local residents and fire rescue personnel jumped in and managed to free the man’s head from the mud. However, as the officials were attempting to free him completely, there was another mudslide which trapped him again. Thereafter, in a nearly three-hour long rescue operation, the fire force personnel created a makeshift platform over his head to protect him from further mudslides and provided oxygen via a tube. They also gave him glucose for energy, kept a check on his vitals and, using digging equipment and a backhoe loader, slowly removed the mud around him and pulled him out, the official said.
Following this, he was examined at the site by a doctor and then rushed to the nearby general hospital, the official said, adding that there appeared to be some internal injury to his right leg that was trapped under the mud for a long time. The doctor, who examined the worker at the site, told TV channels that the man's vitals were stable and there were no serious injuries visible on his body according to the preliminary examination.
She also said the worker complained of pain in one of his legs and as he was trapped under the mud for hours, he has mental trauma related to that. "He will have to be thoroughly examined," the doctor said.