7 Labourers Die As Machine With 100 Tonnes Of Corn Collapses In Karnataka

Seven labourers from Bihar were killed after a gigantic processing machine collapsed, trapping them under a heap of about 100 tonnes of corn at a godown of a private food processing unit in Aliyabad industrial area here, police said on Tuesday.

The Karnataka government has announced a compensation of Rs 7 lakh each to the families of those who died in the tragedy. The injured will get Rs 50,000.

“Three people were injured but they were not trapped. Of the trapped people, one was rescued while seven of them died. All of them are labourers,” Superintendent of Police of Vijayapura Sonawane Rishikesh Bhagawan told PTI.

The incident occurred on Monday evening.

During a search and rescue operation, which started at around 6 pm on Monday and went on till 11 am Tuesday, the bodies of the seven labourers were pulled out while one person was rescued, the police officer said.

Another senior police official said, “The machine that processes corn has funnels laden with corn attached to it which are very heavy. The labourers working under it got trapped after it collapsed partially. These labourers got trapped under 100 tonnes of corn.” Karnataka District In Charge Minister MB Patil who was in Belagavi to attend the assembly session rushed to Vijayapura after learning about the incident.

Besides announcing compensation to the next of family of the victims and the injured, MB Patil said the district administration will facilitate sending the bodies to their respective places.

He also said that the bodies will be airlifted either from Belagavi Airport or Kalaburgi Airport.

“Of the Rs 7 lakh to each family of the deceased workers, Rs 5 lakh each will be provided by the owner of the unit and Rs 2 lakh each will be given by the government of Karnataka,”MB Patil’s office said in a statement.

He further stated that an FIR has been lodged about the incident and an inquiry will be conducted following the due procedure.

MB Patil, who holds the large and medium industries portfolio, directed the officials to issue a circular to all industries in the state to ensure compliance with safety measures.