In a tragic mishap, two persons lost their lives after an excavator turned turtle and plunged into a 50 feet deep black stone mine at Lunibara under Jajpur’s Dharmashala Tehsil on late Tuesday night.
The deceased have been identified as excavator operator, Shantanu Khilar from Telkoi in Keonjhar and helper, Apu Rout from Jenapur in Jajpur.
As per reports, the mishap occurred when excavation was going on in the dead of the night, raising suspicion over the legality of the mine among the locals.
Following the mishap, the locals rushed both Khilar and Rout to the nearest Dharmashala hospital where the doctors declared Khilar dead.
Critically injured Rout was shifted to SCB hospital in Cuttack for treatment where the doctors pronounced him dead too.
Jenapur police have launched a probe in this connection after registering case.
No officials from the district administration were available to comment on this case.