Three adolescent friends were buried alive in a tunnel dug at the base of a sand dune by them to play-in, in Guneri village in Laxmangarh area of the Sikar district in Rajasthan on Monday.
According to delayed reports, the four adolescents of Guneri village dug earth under a sand dune to spend playful time therein.
The so formed cavity or pit, caved in yesterday while the trio Halash Meghwal (10), Gautam Saini (14) and Deepesh Nayak (12) were playing-in, burying them alive.
Their fourth friend Krishna was standing at the entry of the tunnel when earth suddenly caved in.
The boy, in panic, first tried to recover himself and the victims by removing debris, but when this did not work, they raised an alarm for help, the police said Tuesday.
Locals from the vicinity rushed to the spot to extricate the three boys. However, by that time, the trio succumbed, a police official said, terming the incident tragic.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, who is the local MLA, have expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic deaths of three adolescents.