Sonbhadra, November 17: So far, six bodies have been recovered in the accident that occurred during drilling last Saturday in the Obra Billi Markundi mine area of โโSonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh.
Fearing that many workers are still trapped under the debris, teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and district administration are engaged in rescue operations.
UP government’s Labour and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar reached the spot and took stock of the situation on Monday.
On receiving information that a dozen workers were buried under the debris due to a landslide in a stone mine in the Obra police station area on Saturday. The minister reviewed the rescue operations conducted by the NDRF and the SDRF teams, led by the district administration, at the site.
He reported that one more body had been recovered from the debris. Six bodies have been recovered so far. A search operation is underway to find the remaining victims. He added that the sixth body, found last, has not yet been identified. The administration is working to identify it.
He stated that the government and administration’s priority is to rescue the victims through a rescue operation. NDRF and SDRF teams are conducting the operation. He stated that strict action will be taken against those found negligent or lax in the incident.
Earlier, the District Magistrate (DM) BN Singh stated that the incident occurred at the M/s Krishna Mining mine in the Billi Markundi mining area. The body recovered on Sunday has been identified as Raju Singh Gond (40), a resident of Parsoi Tola. Earlier, four bodies were recovered, identified as brothers Santosh Yadav (30), Indrajit Yadav (32), Ravindra alias Nanak (18), a resident of Kachnarwa, and Ram Khelawan (32), a resident of Panari. The District Magistrate stated that the stones that fell from the hill were large and deep, requiring extreme caution in removing them. Adequate equipment and resources have been deployed to the site to remove the debris. Relief and rescue operations have been ongoing since the incident, with the assistance of NDRF and SDRF teams.