Koraput: Close on the heels of the tragic Jeypore landslide incident in which two trapped labourers are still missing under debris, one person was killed while another sustained critical injuries in another such mishap after an explosion at a stone quarry in Jharsuguda on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Suresh Kisan while another person identified as Rohidas who received injury in his hand is now undergoing treatment at hospital and his condition is said to be stable.
As per information, the mishap occurred when Kisan along with five other labourers were engaged in blasting boulders at an illegal stone quarry near Rankata village under Gourmal panchayat here yesterday.
Labourers present at the spot shifted Kisan to his home and later rushed him to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, even after four days, the two labourers, Ghanshyam Guru of Deogarh district and Sanjay Das of Athagarh who were trapped under debris following a landslide at Bariput hills in Koraput district are still missing as the rescue operation launched by the NDRAF, ODRAF and fire personnel team has been hit by heavy rain.
It has become difficult on part of the rescue team to excavate huge amount of debris and boulders with the help of conventional JCB machines sparking apprehension as to whether both are still alive or dead.
"We are anxiously waiting to see our son but the administration is unable to excavate the site in a fast manner, Duryadhan Guru, father of Ghanshyam said.
Thousands of tonnes of debris are still there and size of boulders are just like houses so with just normal human efforts, it is just impossible to trace both the trapped persons. We cannot also ascertain the exact time for completion of the rescue operations, NDRF SI Surjeet Singh said.
On the other hand the district administration has assured that after completion of the rescue operation, probe will be initiated to ascertain the exact cause of the mishap and whoever found guilty will be punished.
Detail enquiry will be conducted and after taking viewpoints of experts we will take action as per the law, Koraput Collector, K Sudarshan Chakraborty said.