Eight labourers, mostly from Bihar, killed as rock collapses at stone quarry in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Eight workers mostly from Bihar were killed after a massive granite rock collapsed at a stone quarry in Bengaluru South Taluk on Thursday, police said.

According to police, the tragedy occurred in the early morning at Madapattana, bordering Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru South district.

The victims, all daily-wage labourers employed at a stone crusher site, were trapped beneath the fallen boulders and died on the spot, according to police.


Police said the accident occurred while the workers were engaged in quarrying operations.

The injured were shifted to a private hospital for treatment.

Chief Minister D K Shivakumar expressed his grief over the incident.

The collapse of a crusher wall in Madapattana of Bengaluru South Taluk has caused the death of seven workers, bringing immense sorrow, he said in a post on 'X'.

He said, "It is the duty of quarry owners to ensure the life safety and security of workers engaged in quarry operations. The government will take appropriate action against quarries that violate regulations."

According to Yashwanthpur MLA S T Somashekar, the eighth labourer died in the hospital.

He charged that he had been complaining about "illegal quarrying" for the past many years and raised the issue in the Karnataka Assembly.

Somashekar said sometime ago, a leopard was killed due to the blast carried out by the quarry owners.

"In this illegalities, police, forest department and mining department officials are involved who should be booked and tried. It is a serious matter that eight people have died," the MLA told reporters.

He also expressed his apprehensions that the bigwigs involved in the case may escape.

He demanded the state government that the accused should not escape from the clutches of the law.

According to those working on the spot, the toll may go up as the condition of some of the injured was critical. They said some of them may even lose their limbs permanently.

The exact number of those injured was still being verified, though initial reports indicated that several workers sustained injuries.

Rescue personnel and police rushed to the spot and launched operations following the collapse.

The area was cordoned off as officials began clearing debris and searching for any other workers who may have been trapped.

One of the labourers said there were about 18 workers from Bihar and North Karnataka at the site.

A huge rock fell from about 40 feet on the workers.

The severity of the accident could be gauged from the fact that loading vehicles were completely mangled. A tractor on the site broke into pieces.

It is learnt that the deceased were mostly from Bihar and efforts were underway to inform their families.

A pall of gloom descended in the area due to the wails of the family members and friends of the victims and injured.

Further investigation has been taken up to ascertain the cause of the rock collapse and whether there was any negligence or violation of safety norms at the quarry, police added.