JOIN US At least 22 bodies have been recovered, and the workers are now demanding a CBI probe into the crash.
District authorities at Korba, about 250 km from Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, said the deaths in the accident could surge once the wreckage of the under-construction 100-metre tower at the coal-fired power plant was cleared. The process might take at least another day or two. “The rescue operation is under way with a dozen cranes pressed into clearance work, and rescuers are working cautiously to clear debris so that survivors, if any, can be pulled out,” Korba District Collector Ashok Agrawal said. He said about 50 workers, most of them from Bihar and Jharkhand, could still be under the debris that is strewn over a large area.
Chief Minister Raman Singh made on the spot assessment of the rescue operation while workers shouted slogans against the Balco management and sought a CBI probe into the incident. “I have already ordered a judicial probe that will comprehensively investigate the chimney crash issue,” Singh told reporters near the site.
Pointing towards the workers, he said, “I can assure you strict action will be taken against those found responsible for overlooking safety aspects.”