Death toll in stone quarry collapse in UP climbs to 6, more workers still feared trapped

Sonbhadra (UP): Five more bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a stone quarry that collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, taking the death toll to six, officials said.

Efforts to rescue labourers trapped under huge boulders at the quarry have gone on for nearly 48 hours now, with several people still believed to be under the debris.

UP minister Sanjeev Kumar Gond and Robertsganj MP Chotelal Kharwar have claimed that around a dozen workers could be trapped in the rubble after a portion of the quarry operated by Krishna Mining Works collapsed on Saturday evening.

The state government has announced a three-tier probe into the incident by the police, mining and district administration.

Sonbhadra District Magistrate BN Singh said five bodies were recovered on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

"One body was recovered in the night. The deceased was identified as Indrajit (30), a resident of Panari, Obra. The other deceased persons have been identified as Santosh Yadav (30), Ravindra alias Nanak (18), Ramkhelavan (32) and Kripashankar." The body of Raju Singh (30) was recovered earlier on Sunday.

UP minister Ravindra Jaiswal, who met the victims' families, said a three-tier inquiry will be conducted into the incident.

Jaiswal met the families of the victims at the post-mortem house and expressed his condolences. He said he had come on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to meet and console the bereaved families.

The minister said each deceased worker’s family will receive around Rs 20 lakh from the government. He added that all injured or affected labourers will be fully supported under schemes run by the Labour Department.

"A three-tier probe will be carried out into the incident, involving the police, the Mining Department, and the district administration," he said.

Jaiswal said strict action will be taken against those found guilty of illegal mining or violation of safety standards.

UP minister and local MLA Sanjeev Kumar Gond, who visited the spot in the Billi Markundi mining area after the collapse on Saturday evening, said, "Around a dozen labourers might be trapped under the debris".

Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Varanasi Zone, Piyush Mordia on Sunday said clearing the rubble is taking time due to the presence of several heavy stones.

The police have booked the owner of Krishna Mining Works and his business partners, Madhusudan Singh and Dilip Keshari, both residents of Obra, on a complaint by Parsoi Tola resident Chhotu Yadav, who said his two brothers were trapped under the rubble, Sonbhadra Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Verma said.

The three accused are yet to be arrested.

Samajwadi Party's Robertsganj MP, Chotelal Kharwar, alleged that the mine was illegally run by the mafia in collusion with local police.

"There is a possibility that 12 to 15 people are trapped under the stones. Tribals are being killed in many ways, and large-scale illegal mining is being carried out in this area. One or two such incidents occur every month in this region," he said.

The MP alleged that illegal mining is being carried out in collusion with the police and administrative officials. Kharwar claimed he was stopped by the police from meeting the kin of the trapped mine workers.

He also demanded Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the victims' families and a government job for each family.