Two men buried alive

Two men buried alive

TANGERANG, West Java (JP): A scraper operator and his
assistant were killed instantly when a 12-meter-high mound of
dirt collapsed on them in Serpong.

Eye witnesses said yesterday Sahrijal Siregar, 50, and Umar,
27, were operating a scraper when the mound of dirt suddenly
collapsed and buried them alive on Thursday. "They screamed for
help before they disappeared in the heap of soil," one of the
local residents said.

Several people attempted to rescue the men out of the soil as
quickly as possible, but the two were dead by the time they
managed to get them out.

The victims had been hired by a local businessman, Ukung, to
scrape and excavate the land.

Local residents reported the accident to the police, who then
rushed the dead bodies to Tangerang hospital.

Police had no idea if the men conducting the land excavation
had the necessary permit because most land scraping businesses in
Tangerang operated without permits.

Tangerang Regency officials could not be reached for comment
on the deadly accident yesterday. (28/sur)