Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel trying to rescue the trapped labourers at the work site near Coonoor Town on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Three migrant labourers were killed during a mudslip at a construction site near Coonoor in the Nilgiris on Saturday evening.

The deceased were identified as Najibul Haque, 24; Obidur Rahman, 25; and Hadil Hakkim, 38 from Murshidabad in West Bengal.

Police personnel investigating the incident said the three men were digging a pit under a steep slope at the construction site in Odhanatti near Jagathalli, a few kilometres from Coonoor Town.

As they were working, the slope weakened, and debris and mud fell on them.

Following the incident, fellow construction workers and local residents rushed to rescue the men trapped underneath the mud. Earth movers were used in an effort to expedite rescue efforts.

The police said while one person was rescued alive, the two others died.

A person who was rescued from the site was rushed to the Coonoor Government Hospital, but died on the way.

A case has been registered, and the police are investigating whether owners of the land and the persons in charge of the construction project obtained appropriate permissions for the work and had followed the stipulated safety precautions at the construction site.

This is the second fatal incident where construction workers have died due to accidents at a construction site in the Nilgiris over the last month. In December 2025, two men were killed when an illegal, under-construction well collapsed on them near Kil Kotagiri.

Published – January 17, 2026 11:47 pm IST