An IIT-Delhi PhD student died in a trench collapse near Harappan area in Gujarat

A PhD student from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi died on Wednesday after… excavation pit collapsed near Lothal, an archaeological site associated with the Harappan civilization in Gujarat Indian Express.

The deceased student was identified as 23-year-old Surabhi Verma. Her professor and two researchers from the Center for Archaeological Sciences of IIT-Gandhinagar were injured in the accident.

The team of Verma, IIT-Delhi assistant professor Yama Dixit and IIT-Gandhinagar researchers VN Prabhakar and Shikha Rai collected soil samples for paleoclimatological studies.

The excavation site was outside the main conservation area in Lothal, about 80 kilometers from Ahmedabad.

Police said the group had hired an excavator to dig a 10-foot-deep hole near the destroyed guesthouses when the loose and waterlogged soil collapsed, burying Verma and Dixit.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Om Prakash Jat said locals alerted authorities and forces arrived within 15 minutes.

Verma was pronounced dead at the scene. Dixit was first taken to a local health center in Bagodara and then shifted to Apollo Hospital in Gandhinagar due to breathing difficulties.

“No designated archaeologists were present during the excavation and the researchers may have lacked expertise in such activities,” said Assistant Inspector PN Gohil.

Initial investigation revealed that the team did not have permission to excavate in the prohibited area.

Abhijit Ambekar, archaeologist in charge of the research in Vadodara, said a team has been sent to investigate.

“We will ask whether a permit for excavations was issued and by whom,” he said Indian Express. The survey was asked to submit a report within 24 hours.

Verma’s autopsy was performed on Wednesday evening. The police prepared an accident death report.