A 23-year-old PhD student from IIT-Delhi tragically lost her life on Wednesday when an excavation pit near the Harappan Civilisation site in Lothal, Gujarat, collapsed on her and her professor. Police have identified the deceased as Surabhi Verma.
Her professor, 45-year-old Yama Dixit, also from IIT-Delhi, was rescued by first responders but remains in a “fragile” condition, according to officials.
The incident occurred around 11 am when a team of four researchers from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Gandhinagar conducted a palaeoclimatology study at the ancient port city of Lothal. The team had reportedly hired an excavator to dig a pit outside the boundaries of the main protected archaeological site.
Om Prakash Jat, Superintendent of Police, Rural Ahmedabad, said, “The team had dug up a pit in Lothal and were collecting samples when the pit collapsed, burying two of the four members. It took the police 15 minutes to reach the site due to the distance from the nearest police station in Koth, which is 20 km away. In total, there were five people at the site, including the driver.”
Professor Dixit, an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) at IIT-Delhi, was rescued and initially taken to CHC Bagodara. Due to breathing issues and low oxygen levels, she was later transferred to Apollo Hospital in Gandhinagar.
The tragedy has raised questions about safety protocols and permissions. According to Sub-Inspector P N Gohil of Koth police station, the team had been operating outside the designated protected archaeological site, near old, dilapidated guest houses. He noted that loose soil and groundwater surges may have caused the pit’s collapse.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Vadodara Circle, has dispatched a team to investigate the incident and has been directed to submit a report within 24 hours.
Dr Abhijit Ambekar, Superintending Archaeologist at ASI Vadodara Circle, stated, “Whether permission for the excavation was granted and by whom will be investigated. Preliminary findings suggest the researchers may not have had authorisation from the appropriate agencies to carry out excavation in the prohibited area.”
Sources also raised concerns about the methodology used by the academic team, suggesting a lack of expertise in excavation at such sensitive sites.
Police have filed an Accidental Death (AD) report. Associate Professor V N Prabhakar and Senior Research Fellow Shikha Rai, both from IIT-Gandhinagar’s Archaeological Sciences Centre, were identified as the other members of the research team.
A post-mortem examination was conducted on Verma’s body on Wednesday evening at CHC Bagodara. Her family has been informed of her death.
Locals were the first to alert the authorities about the accident. Police confirmed that no designated archaeologists were present at the time of the incident.
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