Seven migrant workers, including five from Madhya Pradesh, were killed and five others injured after a huge boulder slid down a hill and hit a stone quarry on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Thursday, with the state government ordering an investigation into the incident to determine whether the quarry was operating as per mining and safety regulations.
Police said the accident took place at the Kaveri crusher quarry near Madapatna village in Bengaluru, south of Bengaluru taluk. Police, fire and rescue teams, along with officials from the Department of Mines and Geology, rushed to the scene and began rescue operations using heavy machinery to remove the rubble and recover the bodies.
The deceased have been identified as Ram Naik from Yadgir district in Karnataka, Dharmesh Singh from Chhattisgarh, Satyanarayan Gond, Bhuvneshwar Singh, Rajendra Prasad Chaudhary, Rajesh Prasad and Shivraj Singh, all from Madhya Pradesh. The injured include Chhotu, Gulab Singh, Anand, Nahar Singh and another worker whose identity is yet to be determined, police said. Deputy Inspector General of Police S Girish said that two adjacent crushers were operating at different levels and around 16 workers were working when the accident occurred. Officials are examining whether activity at the nearby quarry has destabilized the slope.
“There are two crushers here – one at the top and the second at the bottom. Work was going on at both sites. A drilling machine was deployed at the top. A huge rock slid from above and fell on the people working below. Seven people died on the spot, five were injured while four others working at the site escaped unhurt,” PTI quoted Girish as saying.
Police said that according to initial reports, heavy machinery working in the nearby quarry may have loosened the soil and rocks, causing the boulder to roll down the hill. “It is very clear that there was negligence,” Girish added.
Parashuram, an excavator worker who witnessed the collapse, said the workers did not have enough time to escape. “It only took a few seconds before one side of the hill collapsed. The workers didn’t have time to react,” he said.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said initial reports suggested that the tragedy was not caused by an explosion but by soil erosion. He said the government would determine whether the quarry was operating legally and whether stipulated safety standards were followed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences. “Pained to hear about the loss of lives due to an unfortunate accident at a stone quarry in Bengaluru. I extend my deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he wrote on X.
President Draupadi Murmu also wrote on X: “…My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
