Delhi collecting sediment samples inside an excavation pit at a Harappan-era site in Gujarat's Lothal died Wednesday of suspected asphyxiation and injuries after a cave-in left her and a professor-guide trapped in mud.

The deceased and the other victims were at the ancient Indus Valley civilisation site to do research work when the cave-in occurred.

The incident took place at around 11 AM, when a joint team comprising four researchers from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Gandhinagar had gone to the ancient port city of Lothal to study paleoclimatology.

Tragedy struck an archaeological dig near Lothal, Gujarat, on Wednesday, claiming the life of a 23-year-old IIT Delhi PhD scholar, Surabhi Verma. Verma and three other researchers, from IIT Delhi and IIT Gandhinagar,

Was part of a four-member team that had arrived in Lothal to study paleoclimatology, two others rescued; ASI rushes team to site

An IIT Delhi student died and three others were injured after soil collapsed on them when they entered a pit near the archaeological site of Lothal in Gujarat for research on Wednesday morning, police said.

Surabhi Verma, a PhD scholar at IIT Delhi died when he had gone to collect soil samples for study near the archaeological site of Lothal in Gujarat.

The incident happened around 11 a.m. near the ancient Indus Valley civilisation site. The researchers had hired an excavator to dig the pit, located outside the boundaries of the main protected site.