Four workers were killed after a landslide occured in an iron ore mine in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday, said the police, as per a PTI report. The incident took place at around 3 pm under the Kirandul police station limits, allotted to the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for mining, said an official. The incident occured after portion of a big rock caved in trapping four of the fourteen workers engaged in the work.
As per the plant management, two other workers were injured in the incident.
According to Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai, the workers were engaged in the construction of a retaining wall as part of Screening Plant-3 extension project of the NDMC and the actual mining was yet to start in the area, as per the PTI report.
Following the incident, a rescue operation was launched by the police and State Disaster Response Force. Initially, bodies of two workers were recovered while two more bodies were recovered in the evening, the officials said.
The deceased workers have been identified as Bittu Bala (26), Tushar Bala (49) and Nirmal Bala (56), residents of West Bengal while one Santosh Kumar Das (29) hailed from Bihar, the report added.
A case has been registered in connection with the matter by Kirandul police station, said Dantewada collector Mayank Chaturvedi, adding that a probe will be conducted and appropriate action will be taken against those found guilty.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed his grief on the loss of lives said that the workers trapped inside the mine were being rescued.
"Sad news is being received about the rock collapse accident at NMDC's SP3 plant located in Kirandul, Dantewada. Unpleasant news was received about the death of laborer brothers in this accident," Sai said in a post on X.
"I pray to God for peace of the departed souls and express my deepest condolences. The workers who are trapped in the mine are being rescued and will soon be rescued safely," he added.