THE family of Vivek Nand, who was allegedly buried alive at a development site in Nasoso, Nadi, yesterday, is seeking answers.
The Saweni, Lautoka, resident was laying pipes in a five-metre deep trench when the horrific accident occurred.
His family is questioning the way they were informed of his death and claim there was failure on the part of his employer in ensuring safety procedures were followed.
His son Nischal Nand said there were too many questions and no answers about the way his father died.
Mr Nand’s family found out that the 51-year-old had died at his work site yesterday after a doctor at the Nadi Hospital answered his mobile phone.
Nischal said it was heartbreaking to have found out his dad had died from someone other than a representative of the company he worked for.
Mr Nand was working at a land development site in Nasoso, laying pipes in a five-metre deep trench, when the walls allegedly caved in and buried him alive.
Nischal claimed the accident could have been avoided if there were safety procedures in place.
“We visited the site where he died and we saw how deep the trenches he was working in are,” he said.
“They were about five to six metres deep.
“It is something that we keep asking about. How could this happen? What caused the landslide?”
The victim’s sister-in-law, Carol Nand, said they were disappointed that the company did not alert family members immediately.
“We were told that the accident happened around 10.30am. And it was only when one of our family members heard rumours that there was an accident at the Nasoso site that we started to call around.
“One of his cousins called my brother-in-law’s phone and a doctor at the Nadi Hospital picked up. The doctor advised us to go to the hospital straight away. We didn’t know that by that time Vivek had already died.
“It’s very disappointing that no one called to inform us about what happened. We had to find out on our own.”
Construction Equipment Hire Fiji Ltd managing director Wella Pillay confirmed there was an unfortunate incident at the site.
“The relevant authorities were advised and they are conducting their investigations,” he said.
Meanwhile, police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro said investigations into the incident had begun.
She said the incident occurred at the Waimalika Industrial area and confirmed the labourer died on site.
Ms Naisoro said a second victim who was buried alongside Mr Nand was admitted in hospital.
