Two migrant workers were badly injured they were sucked into a sinkhole at an under-construction waste-treatment facility in Phitsanulok’s Wang Thong district Tuesday.
The cave-in occurred around noon at the site in Dong Khoi village, said Pol Lt Col Klanarong Chanmanee, a duty officer at Wang Thong police station.
Police arrived to find fellow workers trying to excavate dirt from the subsided area to rescue the Myanmar and Cambodian men. When their efforts failed, workers used a backhoe to dig up the earth around the sinkhole. It took more than half an hour to free the pair.
Rescue workers provide first aid to one of the two injured workers after being retrieved from a subsided area in Phitsanulok on May 5. (Photo by Chinnawat Singha)
The Myanmar worker, identified as Htan Kyi Lain, sustained bruises and a broken left leg while Cambodian Nang Phab was rendered unconscious by oxygen depravation, police said.
Rescue workers provided first aid to the Cambodian worker, but he did not respond. The two were sent to a nearby hospital where they were admitted to the intensive-care unit.
Witnesses told police that the two men were sitting near the waste-treatment facility under construction when the land underneath them collapsed. They were sucked into the hole followed by a huge amount of soil. Workers witnessing the incident shouted for help.
Police were investigating and would ask the employer of the injured workers to foot their medical bills.