IIT Delhi student dies in soil collapse incident at Gujarat archaeological site

The incident took place on Wednesday when the research team was collecting soil samples at the archaeological site of Lothal, considered to be the centre of importance of the Indus Valley civilisation.

In Short

• Incident at Lothal archaeological site, centre of Indus Valley civilisation
• Team from IIT Delhi, Gandhinagar were collecting soil samples
• Surabhi Verma, 24, died on the spot, professor injured

An IIT Delhi woman student, who was part of a research team, was killed, and three others were injured after soil collapsed on them when they entered a 10-feet-deep pit at the Lothal archaeological site in Gujarat.

Lothal, located 80 km from Ahmedabad, is considered to be the centre of importance of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation.

The incident took place on Wednesday when the team comprising two members each from IIT Delhi and IIT Gandhinagar visited archaeological remains of the Harappan port town of Lothal to collect soil samples for study.

Surabhi Verma, the 24-year-old IIT Delhi student, along with her archaeologist professor Yama Dixit (45) had descended into the 10-feet-deep pit to collect the sample when the soil suddenly collapsed on them.

While Verma died on the spot, Dixit was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital.

Ahmedabad Rural SP Omprakash Jat said an ambulance, fire brigade and local police team immediately reached the spot for search and rescue operation following the incident.

He said Dixit's condition was stable.