1 dead, dozen feared trapped as UP’s stone quarry collapses

A 30-year-old mine worker’s body was recovered from the rubble on Sunday morning from a stone quarry that collapsed here on Saturday, a police officer said. Several more remain trapped under the rubble.

Uttar Pradesh Minister and local MLA Sanjeev Kumar Gond, who visited the spot in the Billi Markundi mining area after the collapse, said “around a dozen labourers” might be trapped under the debris.

Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Varanasi zone, Piyush Mordia said efforts were on to clear the debris. The police identified the deceased labourer as Raju Singh of Panari village of the same district. The ADG said clearing the rubble was taking time because it included several heavy stones. Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma said they were informed about the collapse around 4.30 pm on Saturday. The caller said several workers were buried under the debris after a portion of a stone quarry operated by Krishna Mining Works collapsed.

The police have booked the owner of Krishna Mining Works and his business partners, Madhusudan Singh and Dilip Keshari, both residents of Obra, on the complaint of Chhotu Yadav, a resident of Parsoi Tola, who said his two brothers were trapped under the rubble, the SP said.

The three are yet to be arrested. Mordai, in a post on X, said teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and the police were carrying out a rescue operation.

Samajwadi Party MP Chotelal Kharwar alleged that the mine was illegally run by the mafia in collusion with the local police. “There is a possibility that 12 to 15 persons are trapped under the stones. Tribals are being killed in many ways, and large-scale illegal mining is being carried out in this area. One or two such incidents occur every month in this region, but how the mining mafia manages everything remains unknown,” he said.|