LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – Three construction workers were buried alive while excavating a relocation site for the sewerage system of a convention center here on Wednesday afternoon, March 12.
Police identified the fatalities as Christian Mark Velasco, 41, of Quezon, Isabela, and Christian Juanitez Lestino, 32, of Pasig City. A colleague, Rebecca Beltran, 36, of Santo Tomas, Batangas, was rescued.
Investigation said the victims were digging a 2.5-meter deep hole when the soil suddenly fell on them at about 12:30 PM.
The victims were rescued and taken to Gov. Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital here where two of them were declared dead due to asphyxia from soil entrapment. Beltran is in stable condition.
The project engineer theorized that the dismantling of a nearby pipeline softened the soil and caused the erosion.