Begaljica: Worker Killed as Earth Collapses in Deep Trench

A worker died at a construction site in Begaljica, in the Grocka municipality, on Tuesday while doing work inside a dug trench. According to initial information, the victim is a 46-year-old man identified as S.S. Earth suddenly collapsed on him while he was in a trench about five meters deep. Emergency medical teams reached the scene but could only confirm his death.

The accident reportedly happened at around 3:55 p.m. The worker was alone in the trench at the moment of the collapse, at a depth where any attempt to climb out unaided is effectively impossible. The mass of earth that slides into a narrow excavation weighs several hundred kilograms and can cut off a buried person’s air within seconds. Authorities secured the location, and the body was recovered with the help of rescue teams.

Why are dug trenches among the most dangerous places on a site?

Deep excavations rank among the highest-risk positions in construction. Trench walls without proper shoring, formwork, or stepped support can give way with no warning, especially after rain or in loose soil. Occupational health and safety rules require that any excavation deeper than one meter be secured, that safe entry and exit be provided, and that constant supervision be in place. In practice, these measures are often skipped for the sake of speed or cost.

According to available information, prosecutors ordered an autopsy and opened an investigation to determine whether the required protective measures were in place at the site. The on-site inspection will show whether the trench was secured with shoring and whether the employer met its legal obligations. Until the proceedings conclude, no one can be held responsible, as guilt has not been established by a final ruling.

Does Serbia protect construction workers well enough?

This accident came on the same day that, in a separate incident in Loznica, a worker fell from scaffolding. Two distinct tragedies in a single day put the question of safety on Serbian construction sites back in focus. Labor inspection statistics have for years shown that falls from height and trench collapses are among the most common causes of fatal workplace injuries.

Behind each of those numbers stands a family that loses one of its own in a single day. A workplace accident of this kind is rarely an uncaused stroke of misfortune; more often it is the result of skipped steps in protection. The investigation in the Begaljica case should answer whether this worker’s death could have been prevented.

Do you think safety oversight on construction sites in Serbia is enforced strictly enough?