KalingaTV News Network
Rourkela: At least two labourers were killed and another sustained critical injury in an accidental explosion which took place during stone blasting in Jalda stone quarry near the Steel City on Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as Ram Prasad Lohar (27) of Jalda A Block and Jagannath Samari (28) of Patabeda village. The injured is Edwin Topno (18).
The mishap took place at around 7 AM in the morning while stone blasting activity was underway at Jalda A Block quarry. The labourers unknowingly reached near a blasting site and were left hurt after the explosives fixed there went off suddenly.
While Ram and Jagannath died on the spot, injured Edwin was rushed to Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) where his condition remains to be critical.
Tension ran high in Jalda after the incident as villagers claimed that a number of stone quarries operate illegally in the area flouting all safety rules. They demanded immediate action against the stone mafias who are responsible for the mishap.
Meanwhile, Jalda Police has reached the spot and started investigation into the incident.
Ms Kalinga