Bodies of 3 workers recovered from collapsed iron structure in cement plant in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The bodies of three missing labourers were on Saturday recovered from the debris of a collapsed iron structure on the premises of a cement plant in Odisha’s Sundergarh district, after a 36-hour rescue operation, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Susanta Rout (58), Ranjit Bhol (24) and Dashrath Patra (42), who were engaged by a contractor at the captive power plant in Rajgangpur, they said.

The workers were trapped after a coal hopper – a big iron structure used for storing large quantities of coal – collapsed on Thursday evening, said Brijesh Kumar Rai, DIG, Western Range (Rourkela).

The coal hopper was operated by a third-party vendor engaged by Dalmia Cement, the company had earlier said in a statement.

Over 60 other workers were safely rescued on the day of the accident, officials said.

Personnel of the fire service department, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and local police teams carried out the rescue operation.

Further investigation is underway.