Bengaluru: In a major development, the Karnataka Police on Thursday said the massive boulder that crushed seven workers to death at a quarry in Bengaluru South taluk was pushed from an upper quarry by an excavator operating at a different quarrying site, indicating alleged negligence that led to the tragedy.
At least seven migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and North Karnataka were killed after a huge boulder crashed onto workers at a stone quarry early in the morning.
The incident occurred at the Kaveri Crusher unit in Madapatna village, under the jurisdiction of the Tavarekere Police Station in Bengaluru South taluk.
The deceased have been identified as Ramu, Rajpal Singh, Satyanarayan Singh, Ram Avtar Singh, Rajendra Prasad, Nuhar and Bhuvaneshwar Singh, all aged between their 30s and 40s, police said.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the accident site, Central Zone IGP S. Girish said, “There are two quarries at the location. The upper quarry belongs to one owner, while the lower quarry is owned by another. Work was underway at both sites early this morning. A JCB excavator operating at the upper quarry moved boulders, one of which rolled downhill and fell onto the workers at the quarry below.”
“A total of 16 workers were at the lower quarry. Seven of them died on the spot. Five have been admitted to hospital, one of whom is in critical condition, while four others managed to escape,” the IGP said.
He further said, “Among the deceased, one worker was from Yadgir district in Karnataka, while the others were from Madhya Pradesh. One of the injured workers is from Chhattisgarh.”
Gopi, a worker from Tamil Nadu who narrowly escaped the accident, alleged that workers at the upper quarry failed to warn those below.
“Those working above should alert the workers below, but no one informed us. I have been working here for the past eight years. The workers above should always inform us before carrying out such operations. Four of us managed to escape. If they had warned us, we would have known about the danger. A stone hit me, but despite that, I managed to run away from the spot. Around 15 to 30 people were working at the site. Tractors and excavators were mangled in the incident,” he said.
The impact of the boulder was so severe that the victims’ bodies were crushed beneath the rocks, making identification difficult. Police said some bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. A tractor, a tipper and other heavy machinery at the site were also mangled by the force of the collapse.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, reacting to the incident at Vidhana Soudha, said, “A tragic incident has taken place at two adjoining quarries on Magadi Road. I have received information that seven persons have died. The bodies have been recovered, and senior officers have visited the spot. It has been ascertained that no blasting took place. I will receive a detailed report by this afternoon. It is yet to be determined whether the quarries were operating legally or illegally. The prescribed rules must be followed. I have also received information from Yeshwanthpur MLA S.T. Somashekar.”
“Action will be initiated after the report is received. Compensation will be announced once complete details are available. More importantly, such incidents must never happen again,” the Chief Minister added.
Meanwhile, recalling the tragedy, the son of one of the deceased workers said, “I had worked the night shift and was about to go home when I received a call. My father had come to work at around 6.20 a.m. He was loading stones when the accident happened. My father’s body was lying at the spot, and I was the one who took it away. My father had been working here for the past six months.”
Authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain whether safety norms were violated and whether the quarry operators can be held responsible for the fatal accident. Rescue and recovery operations were continuing at the site till the filing of this report.
(IANS)
