Efforts on to rescue workers feared trapped under collapsed iron structure in Odisha plant

Bhubaneswar: Efforts are on to rescue three workers believed to have been trapped for hours under the debris of a coal hopper, a large iron structure, which collapsed in a cement factory in Odisha’s Sundargarh district, officials said on Friday.

The authorities have been removing the debris with the help of cranes. The incident took place on Thursday evening due to the collapse of the coal hopper in the boiler area of the Captive Power Plant at Dalmia cement plant in Rajgangpur.

“The whereabouts of three persons are yet to be ascertained,” Dalmia Cement said in a statement.

The coal hopper was operated by a third-party vendor engaged by the company, it said.

The plant operations team with the help of the district administration and the state government is working on rescue operations.

“The coal hopper suddenly fell down. We are removing the debris with the help of cranes,” a police officer said.