A 47-year-old truck driver was killed after a mound of earth collapsed onto his vehicle at a laterite stone quarry in Kumbalathody, near Kuthuparamba, on Wednesday afternoon. The victim, Sudheesh N, hailed from Karayattupuram in Kannur district.

Kannavam police said the truck was parked at the quarry site, waiting to be loaded with stones, when a large quantity of soil suddenly gave way and buried the vehicle. Rescue personnel had to cut open the lorry to retrieve the driver. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The body was later shifted to the Koothuparamba Taluk Hospital for post-mortem examination. Kannavam police registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A preliminary inquiry has been initiated against quarry owners Sajeevan Peteer and Santhosh. Police said further investigation is under way to ascertain the circumstances that led to the accident.