Four Children Buried Alive While Playing Hide And Seek In Sand Tunnel

A shocking accident in Rajasthan, India, claimed the lives of three children and seriously injured another after they were buried alive while digging a sand tunnel.

The incident happened Saturday evening in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. Four children from the nearby village dug a tunnel to play hide and seek when the dune they were caving into collapsed on them. The children were trapped for hours.

"While they were playing, a portion of the sand dune having a height of around 30 meters caved in and trapped the children," Jhunjhunu Superindent of Police Manish Tripathi told Times of India.

Villagers working nearby witnessed the incident and rushed for rescue. Since it was getting dark and as the children were trapped deep down in the pile of sand, the villagers could not bring them out on their own. However, the villagers continued to dig into the pile while few others rushed to inform the officials about the accident.

"Eyewitnesses raised an alarm and intimated us. A few of them chipped in to bail out the kids," Tripathi told the outlet.

The officials arrived and with the help of the villagers finally pulled out all four children. Three of the children were brought out unresponsive but the fourth child was still breathing.

Three children, identified as 10-year-old Nisha, 7-year-old Prince, and 7-year-old Krishna were pronounced dead at the scene. The fourth child, who has not been identified but reported to be an 8-year-old boy was rushed to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. The child’s current condition is unknown.

"The fourth child aged eight years suffered injuries after he breathed sand which got stuck in his chest. He was having breathing trouble and is in acute shock. He was rushed to a hospital where he is undergoing treatment," Tripathi added.

All the deceased children hailed from the same family and were reported to be cousins. The close family and relatives of the deceased are still trying to recover from the shock.