Stone quarry collapse: Another body pulled out, death toll mounts to 7

The death toll in the stone quarry collapse in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district has climbed to seven with another body being recovered from the rubble, officials said on Tuesday.

The seventh body has been identified as that of Gulab Kharwar (32), a resident of Obra police station area of Sonbhadra. Kharwar's body was recovered on Monday evening.

Rescue operations are still underway at the site.

UP minister Sanjeev Kumar Gond and Robertsganj MP Chotelal Kharwar have claimed that around a dozen workers could be trapped in the rubble after a portion of the quarry operated by Krishna Mining Works collapsed on Saturday evening.

The state government has announced a three-tier probe into the incident by the police, mining and district administration.

UP minister Ravindra Jaiswal, who met the families of the victims on Monday, said each deceased worker's family will receive around Rs 20 lakh from the government and all affected labourers will be fully supported under schemes run by the Labour Department.

Jaiswal said strict action will be taken against those found guilty of illegal mining or violating safety standards.

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

The three accused are yet to be arrested.