Two labourers killed in well collapse

Two Pakistani labourers were killed on Thursday when the sides of a well they were digging in the United Arab Emirates caved in and buried them, police said.

Police blamed the accident in Abu Dhabi on lax safety precautions and said the two men were nine metres underground when the well collapsed, news agency WAM reported.

In the midst of a construction boom, the UAE has long faced criticism from human rights groups who say it has not done enough to improve working conditions for hundreds of thousands of mostly South Asian labourers building its gleaming towers.

The UAE government has revised its labour law to include requirements that employers pay for migrant workers' travel, employment permits, medical tests and health care.

The Gulf commercial hub of Dubai is considering closing down over 400 workers' hostels after a fire killed 11 Asian labourers in an overcrowded house last month.

Another accident resulted in several construction workers drowning in concrete in another emirate earlier this year.