JOIN US10 dead, several injured after blast at quarry in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district
Ten workers lost their lives in a gelatine stick blast at a limestone mine in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. A few others were injured.
The accidental blast of the explosive material used in quarrying took place on Saturday morning near Mamillapalle village in Kalasapadu mandal.
According to the police, the blast occurred when a load of gelatine sticks, brought from Badvel town, was being unloaded from a vehicle. The exact cause that triggered the blast is yet to be established.
The vehicle was mangled due to the impact and body parts of the deceased were strewn all over the blast site. Police are trying to ascertain the identity of the dead, most of them believed to be from Pulivendula in the same district.
Such was the effect of the explosion that the nearby villagers initially believed it to be an earthquake.
Police officials said that the limestone mine was licensed and that authorised operators were dealing with the gelatin stick consignment.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy, who represents Pulivendula constituency, expressed shock and inquired about the incident. He extended his sympathies to the families of the deceased.
TDP president and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed his anguish over the death of several workers. “Unfortunate that the tragic incident claiming so many lives took place in Chief Minister's native district. Proper safety standards should be implemented to prevent such incidents.”
Naidu sought an explanation from the government as to “why the mining works were allowed when there was an 18-hour curfew in progress all over the State in view of the Covid-19 spread.”
The Opposition leader has demanded the YSRCP government to extend all help and also announce Rs 1 crore ex gratia to the kin of the deceased on par the compensation given to the LG Polymers gas leak victims in Vizag in May last year.
The TDP has also demanded a probe by a sitting judge.