Quarry collapse in Konni: Body of second migrant worker recovered

Pathanamthitta (Kerala) | The body of the second migrant worker, who died in the landslide at a quarry site in this district, was recovered late on Tuesday evening, more than 30 hours after the mishap occurred a day ago.

The body of the worker, identified as 48-year-old Odisha native Ajay Kumar Rai, was revealed around 8.30 pm after heavy machinery was used to remove the huge rocks which had fallen on top of the excavator that he was operating.

The search and rescue operation was stopped on Monday following fresh landslides and resumed at 7 am on Tuesday. But, it was suspended temporarily around afternoon due to repeated rockfalls.

Subsequently, it was decided to continue the operation using only heavy machinery.

Thereafter, a 24-meter long boom Hitachi from Alappuzha, an iron rope from Haripad and a hook required for the operation, were arranged and brought to the site by evening after which the operations resumed, the district administration said.

Lights were set up to ensure that the search and rescue operation could continue even at night.

The search was carried out despite adverse weather conditions and dangerous conditions such as falling rocks, the district administration said.

After the body was revealed, three rescue personnel climbed down to the accident site by ropes and recovered the body.

The remains were wrapped in a tarpaulin and then removed around 9 pm using the long boom Hitachi.

The body was then taken away in an ambulance, according to visuals on TV channels.

After the body was recovered, District Collector Prem Krishnan told reporters that post mortem of the remains of both workers would be completed by Wednesday so that the bodies can be transported back to their families.

He said the quarry owner will bear the expenses of transporting the remains back and instructions have been issued to provide compensation to the workers' families.

The Collector also said that there will be a detailed probe into whether any illegal quarrying was carried out at the site as many complaints have been received regarding the same.

The body of the first migrant worker -- Bihar native Mahadev Pradhan -- was recovered on Monday from the quarry site in Payyanamon near Konni here.

The tragic incident occurred when a section of rock and soil suddenly collapsed onto an excavator during the quarrying work.

Mahadev and Ajay Rai were inside the machine at the time of the accident.

The workers had just returned to their shift after lunch when the rocks gave way.

A specialised 27-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), led by Commander Sanjay Singh Malsuni, had reached the site on Monday from Thiruvalla to help in the rescue mission.

Besides them, 35 fire force personnel and a 20-member special task force were also part of the search and rescue operation.