From correspondents in Punjab, India, 10:00 PM IST

Seven slum dwellers, including three children, looking for scrap, were buried alive after a dumper-truck partially overturned trapping them under loose earth here Sunday afternoon, police said.

A husband-wife couple, who were dug out by rescuers, were taken to the nearby Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) where doctors said they were out of danger. The accident took place in Sector-31 here.

The rescue operation, which went on for over four hours, included officials of the fire brigade, local police and workers of a voluntary organisation. JCB machines and hydraulic cranes were swung into action to expedite the rescue operation.

'So far seven bodies have been dug out and two survivors, who are husband and wife, have been safely brought out. We have identified six bodies but one female body is yet to be identified,' Brijendra Singh, deputy commissioner of Chandigarh, told reporters.

The deceased were identified as Chandravati, 35, Jaiparkash, 22, Sukha, 13, Chandresh, 12, Rajvati, 35, and her son Johny, 9.

'All the deceased were residents of a slum rehabilitation colony in phase XI in neighbouring Mohali town while the couple was from Jagatpura village there,' he said.

'The administration will give a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to four deceased adults and Rs.50,000 to three children. While the survivors, Indervati and her husband Bhagirath, will get an aid of Rs.25,000 each,' Singh said.

All the victims belonged to families of labourers working on nearby under-construction buildings in Sector 31. They had come to the area to collect scrap.

The incident took place when a big dumper-truck arrived in the open area to dump loose earth and other 'malba' (construction waste).

As the material was being dumped, the earth under the truck gave away and the loose earth in it fell on the people waiting below to collect scrap.

'The driver of the truck fled from the spot and police are trying to ascertain where this vehicle and waste came from. This place is not an official dumping ground but people dump waste here just because it is a low-lying area,' Singh said.

Police had a tough time controlling the wailing relatives of the victims gathered at the spot.

'Although there is no possibility of any other person of being trapped under the mud but we are stilling digging out earth to be 100 percent sure,' said a fire brigade official.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)