Two siblings aged three and two drowned after falling into a water-filled lift pit at an under-construction commercial building in Bhestan, Surat, on Friday evening, according to a report by the Times of India. The children were living with their migrant-worker parents at the construction site, where both adults worked as daily wagers.
The victims were the younger two of the couple’s three children. Their eldest daughter remains in the family’s native place, while the two younger children stayed with their parents at the site, the report said.
According to a preliminary investigation by police, the mother was preparing dinner when the father left to buy vegetables. The children were playing nearby and reportedly moved towards the lift shaft being dug for the upcoming building. The pit was around six feet deep and had accumulated water.
The children slipped and fell into the shaft and drowned before help could reach them. The parents later realised what had happened and pulled the children out, but both had already died, according to the report.
Relatives alleged that the lift pit had neither a protective cover nor barricading. They said the children’s deaths could have been prevented if the opening had been properly covered or cordoned off. These allegations form part of the family’s account of the site conditions; the report did not provide details of any completed safety inspection or formal finding assigning responsibility.
The incident highlights the immediate risks created when construction sites remain accessible to workers’ families, especially children, while deep excavations and lift shafts are left exposed. A lift pit can become a drowning hazard when rainwater or other water accumulates, while the absence of physical barriers increases the possibility of accidental falls.
The family initially refused to accept the bodies and demanded adequate compensation and accountability from those responsible for the site. Police counselled and intervened with the relatives, after which the family accepted the bodies on Saturday. The last rites were subsequently performed.
The report did not specify whether the building owner, contractor or any other site-level authority had been booked, nor did it detail the status of any compensation process. The next steps in the police investigation and any action by the authorities responsible for construction-site safety will determine how accountability is pursued.
