Our Correspondent
BILASPUR
SEVERE tension mounted at Kusum Plant in village Rambod near Sargaon, Mungeli district, on Saturday when teams from NDRF, SDRF, and the local administration, during a rescue operation, recovered three more bodies from the debris of the collapsed silo (container).
The bodies were identified as Engineer Jayant Sahu, son of Kashinath Sahu from Sarkanda, Bilaspur; labourer Awadhesh Kashyap, son of Nikhadram Kashyap from village Taga, Janjgir-Champa district; and labourer Prakash Yadav, son of Pardeshi Yadav, resident of village Akoli, Balodabazaar district.
Family members of the deceased created a ruckus near the factory and refused to claim the bodies until they were compensated with Rs 50 lakh each, along with a government job and the arrest of the factory manager and shift in-charge.
Sargaon Police have taken possession of all the bodies and sent them to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), Bilaspur, for autopsy.
When
the silo (container) collapsed on Thursday afternoon, about 7-8 labourers were buried under
the rubble.
During the rescue operation, teams recovered the body of laborer Manoj Suryavanshi and four other injured workers who are currently undergoing treatment in the hospital. Immediately after the incident was reported, teams from NDRF, SDRF, and the local administration launched a round-the-clock rescue operation. After about 40 hours of prolonged efforts, the teams recovered three more bodies buried under the silo (container) on Saturday.
Mungeli District Collector Rahul Dev said the rescue operation lasted for about 40 hours. “Initially, we faced two failures, but we did not give up and finally succeeded on our third attempt,” he stated. He added that a prima-facie FIR has been registered, and the matter will be thoroughly investigated. Strict action will be taken based on the findings. Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, who reached the spot late last night, expressed grief over the incident.
“The incident is unfortunate. The government has started taking action in the matter. An FIR has been registered, and further action will continue,” he said. He assured that the government stands with the families of the deceased and will provide possible financial support, along with assistance from the factory administration.