10 women labourers die as mound of mud caves in

Hyderabad, April 10

Ten women working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme were buried alive in a mudslide at a village in Narayanpet district of Telangana Wednesday, police said.

The incident occurred at Tileru village around 11.15 am when 12 women labourers were sitting at the work site to have lunch, they said, adding rescue efforts were ongoing.

A woman was wounded in the incident.

Under the MGNREGA scheme, the women were engaged for digging earth as part of trench work, a senior district official told PTI.

One woman managed to escape to safety, the official said.  

According to eye-witnesses, they were buried under 6-8 feet of mud.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock and anguish over the incident, which he described as "unfortunate". “The deceased belonged to the poorest strata,” he said and instructed officials to provide all help to the injured and bereaved families. PTI