Two persons are feared dead in an accident at a stone quarry in Payyanamon, near Konni, Pathanamthitta, on Monday.
Rescue personnel recovered a body late in the evening, after several hours of intense search efforts. However, the identity of the deceased has not yet been officially confirmed. Officials had identified the two individuals presumed to be trapped under the debris as Mahadev Pradhan (51) from Odisha and Ajay Kumar Rai (38) from Bihar. Rescue operations continued late into the evening but were called off by 7.30 p.m. due to bad weather and poor visibility. Intermittent rockfalls at the site also hampered the operation.
Sources said that two other workers who were stranded on the other side of the rockfall were eventually rescued. The continuous rockfall at the site had cut off their path, leaving them unable to escape without assistance.
The accident reportedly occurred when a massive boulder broke loose and fell onto an excavator. Preliminary reports suggest that workers were inside the excavator at the time of the collapse. The boulder came crashing down during routine excavation work.
The rescue mission is being conducted by a joint team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the police and the Fire and Rescue Services personnel.
“The accident took place shortly after the workers returned from lunch and resumed their shifts. Despite being informed promptly, reaching the accident spot proved extremely difficult for the rescue teams,” an official said.
Licence expired
Meanwhile, questions have been raised over the safety standards at the quarry. Allegations have surfaced that the unit’s licence expired on June 30 and a complaint regarding this is pending with the Konni panchayat.
The quarry is spread across an area of 120 acres.
