India, Oct. 23 -- A 55-year-old man was allegedly suffocated to death after being buried in a soil cave-in at a private construction site in Uncha Majra village, Pataudi, on Tuesday evening, police said.

The deceased, identified as Vijay Kumar, a local, had been working as a plumber in the area for the past three decades, police said. The incident took place between 5pm and 5.10pm when Kumar climbed down into a 10-foot-deep pit dug using an earthmover to check for a suspected water pipeline leakage, they added.

Investigators said the soil on the edge of the trench suddenly caved in, half-filling the pit and burying Kumar inside. People supervising the repair work raised an alarm, following which locals gathered at the site and began rem...