Stone quarry collapse in Bengal’s Birbhum kills six labourers, injures many

Kolkata: At least six labourers were reportedly killed and several seriously injured on Friday as some parts of a stone quarry collapsed in West Bengal's Birbhum district.

The incident occurred in Bahadurpur village of Birbhum district where the workers fell under heavy rocks at the quarry today afternoon, people in the know said.

A huge police contingent from the Nalhati Police Station reached the spot after the incident at the stone quarry.


Eyewitness said that the labourers were removing the stones from the quarry on Friday noon, when suddenly a portion of the quarry collapsed. “The labourers did not get the chance to come out following a sudden collapse of the quarry. There were around 12 workers in the quarry and all got buried. Upon receiving the news, workers from other stone quarries in the area reached the spot almost immediately and started rescuing,” a local eyewitness told media persons.

The injured workers were rushed to the local Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital in critical condition. Later, two labourers were shifted to Burdwan Medical College as their health conditions deteriorated. An investigation into the incident is underway by police.

It is yet to be ascertained if the crusher bed operated with a valid license. However, the locals claimed that illegal mining was rampant in the region.

The bodies of the dead workers have been sent for post-mortem.

Birbhum district is infamous for growing numbers of illegal stone quarries and sand mining, where the security measures for the workers are meagre.